Saturday, September 18
Lewisburg, Pa.
2 p.m.
Bucknell University
vs
Navy
Photo by: Lianne Garrahan
Women's Soccer Hosts Navy in Patriot League Opener; Vs. Cancer Fundraiser Continues
9/17/2021 12:05:00 PM | Women's Soccer
Navy (4-3-1, 0-0-0 PL) at Bucknell (3-4-1, 0-0-0 PL)
When: Saturday, Sept. 18, 2 p.m.
Where: Emmitt Field at Holmes Stadium, Lewisburg, Pa.
Streaming: ESPN+
Live Stats: BucknellBison.com
Playing for a Cause
When: Saturday, Sept. 18, 2 p.m.
Where: Emmitt Field at Holmes Stadium, Lewisburg, Pa.
Streaming: ESPN+
Live Stats: BucknellBison.com
Playing for a Cause
- Saturday is the Bucknell women's soccer team's annual "Vs. Cancer" game. Vs. Cancer is a foundation that was built by athletes to empower any sports team, any athlete, and any community to help kids with cancer. This marks the fifth year that the Bison have teamed up with Vs. Cancer, raising a total of about $42,000 so far. This year the team has raised over $8,000, nearing its goal of $10,000. Half of the proceeds will go to pediatric brain cancer research, and the other half to the Janet Weis Geisinger Children's Hospital. For those wishing to contribute at Saturday's game, there will be a table at the Holmes Stadium entrance, or you can visit the team's fundraising page: team.curethekids.org/BucknellWomensSoccer2021
- Bucknell opens up Patriot League play on Saturday afternoon against preseason favorite Navy.
- The Bison prepped for league play with a tough non-conference schedule that featured two top-25 teams in West Virginia and Hofstra, a perennial MAAC contender in Monmouth, and a strong Ivy League foe in Columbia. Those four teams, which have accounted for Bucknell's four losses this season, have a combined record of 20-8-2.
- The Bison split a pair of games last weekend, falling 2-0 on the road to No. 25 Hofstra before coming home to defeat Rider, 3-1.
- Hofstra was the highest-scoring team in the nation last spring is near the top of that list again this year, but the Bison held them to two second-half goals last Friday. Since then, the Pride routed Yale 4-0 and went on the road and beat No. 22 Princeton 2-0 to improve to 8-1 on the season.
- Freshmen Paige Temple and Kelley Francis, and junior Rylee Donaldson scored the goals in Sunday's 3-1 win over Rider. Temple's 17th-minute goal was a highlight-reel blast into the top corner from about 30 yards out. After Rider tied the game on an own goal, Francis broke the deadlock in the 79th minute and Donaldson added a third in the 84th.
- Freshman Teresa Deda assisted on all three goals against Rider. The three assists in a game were one shy of Hall-of-Famer Lisa Gibbons' school record. Deda now has five assists on the season, tied with Boston University's Jenna Oldham for the Patriot League lead.
- Donaldson is one of six Patriot League players tied for the goal-scoring lead with three. Temple, Francis and Claire Mensi have two goals apiece. Donaldson also leads the league in shot attempts with 24, two more than Navy's Alexa Riddle.
- Jenna Hall has seen the bulk of the action in goal thus fall. She has started all eight games, with her only rest coming in the second half at Mount St. Mary's, when Kaylee Donnelly logged 45 scoreless minutes. Hall has 46 saves and 11 goals against for an .807 save percentage. That figure is second-best in the Patriot League. Hall's 1.42 goals-against average is misleading, considering that among the 11 goals she has conceded, three have come on penalty kicks and two more on own goals.
- The Bison have made a concerted effort to generate more scoring opportunities this season, and they enter Patriot League play leading the league in shots per game (15.5) while ranking third in goals (1.25) and second in corner kicks (5.38).
- Bucknell played five Patriot League opponents in a modified spring schedule last March. The Bison went 1-2-2, with a 1-0 win over American, scoreless draws with Lafayette and Lehigh, and 1-0 losses to Loyola and Navy.
- Low-scoring games were the theme of the spring, as the Bison conceded only two goals and scored once in the five games.
- Bucknell's 0.37 team goals-against average was the best in the Patriot League and sixth-best in Division I in the abbreviated spring season. The only teams with better GAAs were Georgetown (0.28), South Dakota State (0.28), Evansville (0.34), Northern Kentucky (0.35) and Bowling Green (0.36).
- Bucknell graduated five players from last year's squad: Alex Catanzarite, Chloe Christakos, Sarah Hazard, Bri Kropinack and Jenna Marek. Christakos, a center back, was a Second Team All-Patriot League selection in the spring of 2021.
- Junior midfielder Petie Nassetta joined Christakos on the All-Patriot League squad in the spring. Nassetta was a Third Team choice.
- 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 55-45-11 (.545) overall record at Bucknell, including a 30-14-6 (.660) 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.
- The Mids enter Patriot League play with a 4-3-1 record, including a 2-2-0 mark on the road.
- One of those road wins was a come-from-behind 3-1 win at Maryland on Aug. 29. Navy also owns wins over Loyola Marymount (2-1), Towson (1-0) and Mount St. Mary's (2-1) along with a draw against George Washington (2-2). Navy's losses are to Ohio University (1-0), Ohio State (2-1) and Air Force (1-0).
- The 1-0 loss to Air Force in Annapolis was the Mids' most recent encounter.
- Navy has outscored its opponents 11-9 thus far. Caitlin Doran leads the team with three goals, while Alexa Riddle has two goals and two assists. Six other Mids have one goal apiece.
- Mattie Gallagher has played all but 45 minutes in goal this season. She has registered 34 saves with nine goals against for a .791 save percentage and 1.17 goals-against average.
- Navy garnered 14 of the 20 first-place votes en route to the top billing in the Patriot League preseason poll. Victoria Tran was selected as Patriot League Preseason Midfielder of the Year, and she was joined on the Preseason All-PL team by defender Avery Fries.
- Head coach Carin Gabarra is in her 29th season at Navy and is the only head coach in program history. She has guided the Mids to five NCAA Tournament appearances and 24 winning seasons.
- Navy captured its second straight Patriot League title in the spring of 2021, beating Colgate in penalty kicks in the tournament final. The Mids then took New Mexico to PKs in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, but the Lobos advanced 4-2 in the shootout.
- Bucknell and Navy first met in 1994, and they have clashed at least once in every year since then. The Mids hold a 19-11-2 advantage in the series, including three straight wins.
- The last meeting came during the abbreviated spring 2021 slate, and it was actually Bucknell's final game of the season. The Mids won that one 1-0 at Emmitt Field, as Chloe Dawson's header just 1:52 into the game held up as the only goal of the day.
- Bucknell's most recent win over Navy was a big one. It was a 3-2 verdict in Annapolis in the 2017 Patriot League championship game. Bison fans witnessed one of the most spectacular individual performances in team history, as then-senior Kendall Ham recorded a hat trick in just the first 21 minutes of the game to stake the Bison to a stunning 3-0 lead.
- Of Bucknell's 11 all-time wins against Navy, only three have come at home. The Bison have seven wins in Annapolis and another in Boston in the 2015 Patriot League Tournament.
- Bucknell's busy schedule continues with two more Patriot League fixtures next week. The Bison host American on Wednesday before visiting Colgate on Saturday. Both games are slated for 7 p.m., with coverage on ESPN+.
Players Mentioned
M
/ Women's Soccer
D
/ Women's Soccer
M
/ Women's Soccer
F
/ Women's Soccer
GK
/ Women's Soccer
F
/ Women's Soccer
GK
/ Women's Soccer
M
/ Women's Soccer
F
/ Women's Soccer
F
/ Women's Soccer
D
/ Women's Soccer
M
/ Women's Soccer
F
/ Women's SoccerBucknell Swimming & Diving: Bucknell Invitational PM Session (11/21/25)
Saturday, November 22
Bucknell Swimming & Diving: Bucknell Invitational Diving Session (11/21/25)
Friday, November 21
Bucknell Swimming & Diving: Bucknell Invitational AM Session (11/21/25)
Friday, November 21
Bucknell Swimming & Diving: Bucknell Invitational Diving Session (11/23/25)
Thursday, November 20