Bucknell University
(5-2)
Sacred Heart
(0-6)
Field Hockey Scores Four Unanswered to Defeat Sacred Heart, 4-2
9/19/2021 4:07:00 PM | Field Hockey
LEWISBURG, Pa. – The Bucknell field hockey team scored four unanswered goals to overcome a 2-0 first-quarter deficit and defeat Sacred Heart at Graham Field on Sunday. Four different Bucknell players found the back of the cage and three registered assists as the Bison collected their fourth consecutive victory and second of the weekend.
After Sacred Heart (0-6, 0-0 NEC) scored two goals in the first quarter, but Bucknell (5-2, 1-0 PL) responded with two in the final five minutes of the second quarter and two in the final three minutes of the third. In all, Bucknell totaled 11 goals over two games this weekend.
"There were lots of goals from lots of different sources and in lots of different ways, which is a positive," said head coach Jeremy Cook. "We had a lot of opportunities. We still have a lot of work to do in trying to limit penalty corners and on our penalty corner defense, but I was really happy with the performance today."
Bucknell led 19-6 in shots and 14-3 in penalty corner opportunities. Both of Sacred Heart's goals came from corner attempts.
For the Bison, Mary Kate Stefanowicz, Rachel Apa, Reanne Burgess and Maddie Rehak all collected goals on the afternoon. Lily Neilson and Erin Zielinski had one assist each, and Isabella Pavlides supplied two. Bucknell goalkeeper Clara McCormick made one save against three on-target shots.
The Pioneers were on the board in the ninth minute of play when senior Kayla Kruk converted on a penalty corner for the team's first goal of the season. Sacred Heart sophomore Isabella Chamberlain added another less than three minutes later to put the Bison behind 2-0.
The scoring went quite for more than 14 minutes before Bucknell earned its first goal. The Bison found themselves in a scrum in front of the Sacred Heart keeper as Pavlides and Rehak both attempted to poke the ball in. Rehak finished it off for her first goal of the season and the fifth of her career. Pavlides also registered her first career point on the play.
Bucknell scored again and tied the game with just 20 seconds left in the first half when Neilson dumped the ball in from the left wing to a wide-open Apa, who caught the goalkeeper out of position and fired one off for an easy score. It was Apa's second goal of the season.
Bucknell broke the tie and grabbed its first lead of the day when the Bison scored on a penalty corner in the 43rd minute of action. Stefanowicz shot from the top of the circle and got it past the goalkeeper following assists from Pavlides and Zielinski. Stefanowicz now has four goals this season and is second on the roster in the category. It was Zielinski's fourth assist of the weekend and her team-best seventh of the season.
The Bison scored once again less than three minutes later for good measure. With 20 seconds left in the third, Grace McEvoy attempted a shot that was initially saved by the Sacred Heart goalkeeper, but Burgess scored on the rebound to put the Bison up 4-2. It was the first goal of her career.
The Pioneers got just one more shot off in the final 15 minutes as Bucknell held on to win its fourth game in a row.
"I don't think we ever lost confidence, but we lost composure. Having our confidence, but then also having our composure to execute – that's the challenge. I thought they did a really good job of figuring that out in the second half and really played well," said Cook.
Up next, Bucknell plays four tough road contests in a row. The road swing begins with a game at Boston U. on Saturday, Sept. 25. It will be a rematch of last season's Patriot League Championship game in which the Bison defeated the Terriers 2-1 in overtime at New Balance Field. Saturday's game is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPN+.
Team Stats
KRUK,Kayla (1)
Assisted By: KATTERMAN,Mia
Off penalty corner
8:06
CHAMBERLAIN,Isabell (1)
Assisted By: KATTERMAN,Mia
Off penalty corner
11:02
Rehak, Maddie (1)
Assisted By: Isabella Pavlides
Cross to scrum in front of goal, #4 poke
25:45
Apa, Rachel (2)
Assisted By: Lily Neilson
Feed from left wing to wide open #11 in
29:40
Stefanowicz, M.K. (2)
Assisted By: Zielinski, Erin , Isabella Pavlides
Penalty corner
42:27
Burgess, Reanne (1)
Rebound from #20 shot
44:40
