Women's Soccer Entertains Lehigh Sunday in Home Opener

Sunday, March 21

Lewisburg, Pa.

1 p.m.

Bucknell University

Lehigh

Photo by: Marc Hagemeier

Women's Soccer Entertains Lehigh Sunday in Home Opener

3/18/2021 10:14:00 AM | Women's Soccer

Lehigh (1-1-0, 1-0-0 PL South) at Bucknell (0-1-1, 0-1-0 PL South)
When: Sunday, March 18, 1 p.m.
Where: Emmitt Field, Lewisburg, Pa.
Live Stats: BucknellBison.com

Fan Policy

Up to four family members per Bucknell student-athlete, as well as Bucknell students, staff and faculty may attend. | BUCKNELL SPECTATOR POLICY

Bucknell at a Glance

The Bison have played a pair of defensive battles against Lafayette and Loyola this spring, and now they will be looking to dent the scoresheet as Lehigh visits Emmitt Field for the home opener on Saturday.
Bucknell opened the season with a scoreless draw against Lafayette. That was a crossover game, as Lafayette is playing the Patriot League North Division this season, while Bucknell is in the South Division. Last week in Baltimore, Loyola scored a late goal to swipe the points in an intradivisional clash.
Loyola and Lehigh are both 1-0 in the South Division and share the lead with three points apiece. Bucknell and American are 0-1, and Navy has yet to play a divisional match. The Mids had this weekend's rivalry game against Army postponed, and then they will be at Emmitt Field on Wednesday.
Bucknell has been rock solid defensively thus far, conceding only one goal in 200 minutes. The only breach was a 73rd-minute breakaway finish by Loyola's Ada Clare Tempert on Saturday.
Veteran center backs Chloe Christakos and Holly Burns have been rock solid. Alana Carlucci has locked down the right side of the defense, and freshman Lea Tarzy and sophomore Leann Engemann have each taken a game at left back.
In goal, sophomore Kaylee Donnelly and freshman Jenna Hall have split each of the first two games. Donnelly has made both starts and has still yet to concede a goal while making five saves. Hall has come on after the halftime break in both contests, and she has been a bit busier with 13 saves to her credit while allowing just the one goal at Loyola. Hall tallied 10 saves in the second half and overtime against Lafayette, and she was recognized as the Patriot League Goalkeeper of the Week and Rookie of the Week for her efforts.
At the other end of the pitch, the Bison are in search of their first goal of the season. Bucknell has attempted 16 total shots, led by three each from Abby Gearhart, Kenar Gelman and Petie Nassetta.
Christakos was one of four backs named to the Preseason All-Patriot League Team. Christakos is a returning starter at center back, where she also chipped in two goals last season.
Kelly Cook is in her sixth season on the Bison sideline, and Saturday's game at Loyola was her 100th game as Bucknell's head coach. Cook owns a 51-40-9 (.555) overall record at Bucknell, including a 29-13-5 (.670) 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.

Schedule Adjustments

As part of the Patriot League's modified schedule for the spring of 2021, the league has been split into two divisions, and the Patriot League Tournament will consist of four teams rather than the usual six. The two division winners will host semifinal matches.
Bucknell is playing in the Southern Division with American, Lehigh, Loyola and Navy.
The Feb. 27 home game against Navy that was postponed has been rescheduled for Wednesday, March 24 at 4 p.m. The game will be played at Emmitt Field and will be streamed on ESPN+.

Lehigh at a Glance

The Mountain Hawks are off to a 1-1 start this spring. The opened with a 1-0 home victory over American on March 6, and then last Saturday they dropped a 1-0 verdict at Army.
Bridget Casey scored in the 53rd minute for the lone goal against American. Casey is a junior defender who was a starter as a freshman in 2018 before missing all but one game last year due to injury.
Casey was named Patriot League Defender of the Week after that game, and teammate Mattie Murphy was selected as Midfielder of the Week.
Senior goalkeeper Miranda Royds has played all 180 minutes thus far. She has seven saves as just the one goal against.
Lehigh was picked eighth in the Patriot League Preseason Poll, one spot ahead of Bucknell.
The Mountain Hawks had three All-Patriot League selections last season, but all three were seniors in midfielder Kayla Arestivo (First Team), forward Maggie Wadsworth (Third Team) and defender Annika Jansa (Third Team).
Lehigh finished 5-8-5 overall and 3-5-1 in Patriot League play last season. The Mountain Hawks finished in eighth place with 10 points, one point behind Bucknell.
Head coach Eric Lambinus is in his 11th season at Lehigh.

The Bucknell-Lehigh Series

Bucknell is 16-13-3 in 32 all-time meetings with Lehigh. The two teams did not play in Bucknell's first varsity season in 1990, but they have met in every year since then.
Lehigh has won the last two meetings on the heels of two straight wins for Bucknell.
In last year's game at Lehigh's Ulrich Sports Complex, Allentown native Rylee Donaldson scored her first collegiate goal to give the Bison a 1-0 lead in the 62nd minute, but the Mountain Hawks came back with three goals in the final 21 minutes to swipe a 3-1 verdict. Maggie Wadsworth, Julianna Bonner and Rebecca Van Siclen scored for Lehigh, the last two on set piece headers.
Current Bucknell senior Jenna Marek scored against Lehigh in Bucknell's 1-0 away win in 2018. The goal came just 57 seconds into the second half.
Senior Bri Kropinack has three career assists against Lehigh, including one on that Marek goal.
Senior Alex Catanzarite also has a goal against Lehigh on her account. It came at Emmitt Field in 2017 and was the opening goal in what became a 2-1 Bison win.

A Look Ahead

This is a busy stretch for the Bison, who will play three games in six days. After hosting Lehigh on Sunday and Navy on Wednesday, Bucknell travels to Washington, D.C., next Saturday at face American at 2 p.m.