Sunday, October 31
Lewisburg, Pa.
1 p.m.
Bucknell University
vs
Lehigh (PL Quarterfinals)
Photo by: Marc Hagemeier
Women's Soccer Hosts Lehigh Sunday as Postseason Play Arrives
10/30/2021 12:12:00 PM | Women's Soccer
#5 Lehigh (6-9-1, 4-4-1 PL) at #4 Bucknell (8-7-3, 5-2-2 PL)
Patriot League Tournament Quarterfinals
When: Sunday, Oct. 31, 1 p.m.
Where: Emmitt Field at Holmes Stadium
Streaming: ESPN+
Live Stats: BucknellBison.com
Bucknell at a Glance
Patriot League Tournament Quarterfinals
When: Sunday, Oct. 31, 1 p.m.
Where: Emmitt Field at Holmes Stadium
Streaming: ESPN+
Live Stats: BucknellBison.com
Bucknell at a Glance
- Postseason play has arrived, and Bucknell and Lehigh are set to clash for the second time in four days when they meet Sunday in a Patriot League Tournament quarterfinal matchup at Emmitt Field.
- The Bison had an outstanding regular season finishing 5-2-2 in league play, but that was only good enough for the No. 4 seed as the Patriot League has been loaded with quality sides in 2021. Bucknell did go undefeated (1-0-2) against the three teams above them in the table, but a late-season loss to Army knocked the Bison out of a top-two seed.
- Bucknell and Lehigh met on Wednesday night in Bethlehem in the regular-season finale. It was a wide-open affair with a combined 42 shots taken, but neither team scored through 90 minutes of regulation. Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year Rylee Donaldson ended the match just two minutes into overtime, however, when she headed home a neat half-volley service from Kenar Gelman.
- Bucknell entered that game at Lehigh in fourth place, but still had a chance move up as high as first place or as low as sixth. All three teams ahead of the Bison in the standings – Boston University, Navy and Loyola – won their games, however, so Bucknell landed in the No. 4 spot.
- Boston University is the No. 1 seed with 20 points and a 6-1-2 Patriot League record. Navy took second with 19 points, followed by Loyola (18), Bucknell (17), Lehigh (13) and Army (11). Colgate also finished with 11 points, but Army beat the Raiders 2-1 at West Point on Oct. 9 to win the tiebreaker for the final spot in the tournament.
- Loyola hosts Army at 2 p.m. Sunday in the other quarterfinal matchup. In a change from past years, both semifinal games will be played at the home site of the higher seed (rather than the No. 1 seed hosting the two semifinals games). The lowest-seeded quarterfinal winner will travel to Boston, with Sunday's other winner going to Navy.
- The Patriot League announced its all-league teams and major award winners on Friday, and Bucknell was well-represented with five players honored.
- This is the seventh time Bucknell has claimed the league's Offensive Player of the Year. Donaldson, who leads the league with 10 goals, joins Lisa Gibbons (1993), Jennifer Dervarics (2007, 2008), Christa Matlack (2009, 2010) and Kendall Ham (2016) on that select list.
- Donaldson was also one of five Bison to earn All-Patriot League honors, which marks Bucknell's most honorees since the 2017 Patriot League championship team also had five. Donaldson and freshman midfielder Teresa Deda were named to the All-Patriot League First Team; senior defender Claire Mensi was a Second Team choice; and junior midfielder Abby Gearhart and sophomore goalkeeper Jenna Hall were both Third Team selections.
- Deda has been an impact player as a first-year center midfielder, and she is the first Bison freshman to earn First Team All-Patriot League honors since Kelliann Doherty in 2007. The only other Bucknell rookies to be named to the First Team are Kristie Simon (2000), Kelly Irvin (1999), Sarah Stopper (1996) and Leigh Raymont (1994).
- Deda leads the Patriot League and ranks seventh nationally with 11 assists. That is the second-highest total in Bucknell history, trailing only Gibbons, who had 19 assists to go along with 19 goals in 1994. It is also tied for the highest assist total among all Patriot League players in the last 15 years.
- Mensi's all-league selection represents a storybook comeback from not one, but two major knee injuries. She missed the back half of her rookie season in 2018, and then suffered a second season-ending injury just 13 minutes into her sophomore year. Mensi saw limited action in the abbreviated spring 2021 campaign, playing mostly as a forward, but this fall she was fully recovered and returned to her familiar center back position. A two-year co-captain, Mensi has been a rock in the center of the Bison back four. She has played all but five minutes this season, and her role increased even further when her experienced center back partner, fellow senior co-captain Holly Burns, went down with an injury of her own early in the season.
- Hall is Bucknell's first all-conference goalkeeper since Jessica Ratner earned First Team honors in 2016. Hall was one of the stars in Wednesday's win at Lehigh. In one of her best performances of the season, Hall made a career-high 12 saves, including a diving stop that saved the game with about three minutes left in regulation. That is the highest save total by a Patriot League goalkeeper in a shutout this season.
- This is Bucknell's 22nd all-time Patriot League Tournament appearance and the first since 2018. The Bison are 10-14-3 in Patriot League Tournament matches, and they have won four championships (2001, 2005, 2016, 2017).
- Bucknell was picked ninth in the Patriot League preseason poll, ahead of American and behind Navy, Boston University, Colgate, Army, Loyola, Lehigh, Lafayette and Holy Cross.
- Kelly Cook is in her seventh season on the Bison sideline. Cook owns a 60-48-13 (.550) overall record at Bucknell, including a 35-16-8 (.661) mark in Patriot League play. Cook knows the Patriot League very well, as she was a two-year captain and three-time Second Team All-Patriot League selection at Colgate, where she recorded 27 goals and 23 assists in her career. She ranked in the top 10 in program history in career points (77) and assists. As a junior in 2004, Cook (then Kelly Kuss) was named Patriot League Tournament MVP after leading the Raiders to the league title, and then her team knocked off Arizona in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, marking the first NCAA win in school and league history.
- Lehigh settled for the No. 5 seed after Wednesday's 1-0 overtime loss to Bucknell. The Mountain Hawks finished 4-4-1 in league play. All four losses came at the hands of the top four seeds, but all four were one-goal games.
- Like Bucknell, Lehigh had five players named to the All-Patriot League squad. Senior defender Erin Keefe was a First Team selection; freshman forward Corinne Lyght was named to the Second Team; and sophomore forward Ava Schaller, senior midfielder Courtney Supp and junior midfielder Ryelle Shuey were all named to the Third Team.
- Supp and Schaller lead the team with four goals apiece, while Lyght and Julianna Bonner have three each. Hope Flanegin has a team-high four assists.
- Lehigh has been outscored 23-19 in 16 games this season.
- Sophomore Violette Bonvallet and freshman Abby Trainor have both seen extensive time in goal this season, with Trainor getting the call in seven of the nine Patriot League contests. The two netminders have nearly identical save percentages, and Trainor holds claim to the team's lone shutout, coming against Wagner on Sept. 9. Trainor made four saves in Wednesday's game against Bucknell.
- Bucknell is 17-13-4 all-time against Lehigh. The Bison snapped an 0-2-1 skid with Wednesday's win in Bethlehem.
- The two teams met during the abbreviated 2021 spring season, playing to a scoreless tie at Emmitt Field. The goalkeeper duo of Kaylee Donnelly and Jenna Hall combined for seven saves.
- Prior to Wednesday, Bucknell's previous series win came in 2018 in Bethlehem. Jenna Marek's goal 57 seconds into the second half was the difference.
- Lehigh got revenge two weeks later, however, beating the Bison 2-1 in overtime in a Patriot League Tournament quarterfinal match at Emmitt Field.
- The Bison and Mountain Hawks have met three times in postseason play. In addition to the 2018 Lehigh victory, the Mountain Hawks won 1-0 in a Patriot League semifinal game at West Point in 2010, and Bucknell prevailed in penalty kicks in the 2005 semis in Bethlehem. The Bison defeated Army in the final two days later to win the league title.
- If the Bison advance on Sunday, they would travel to either Boston University (if Loyola advances) or Navy (if Army advances) for a semifinal game on Thursday night.
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