Wednesday, September 22
Lewisburg, Pa.
7 p.m.
Bucknell University
vs
American
Photo by: Marc Hagemeier
Women's Soccer Entertains American Wednesday, Visits Colgate Saturday in Busy Week of Patriot League Action
9/21/2021 1:47:00 PM | Women's Soccer
American (3-4-1, 0-0-1 PL) at Bucknell (4-4-1, 1-0-0 PL)
When: Wednesday, Sept. 22, 7 p.m.
Where: Emmitt Field at Holmes Stadium, Lewisburg, Pa.
Streaming: ESPN+
Live Stats: BucknellBison.com
Bucknell (4-4-1, 1-0-0 PL) at Colgate (4-4-0, 0-1-0 PL)
When: Saturday, Sept. 25, 7 p.m.
Where: Beyer-Small '76 Field, Hamilton, N.Y.
Streaming: ESPN+
Live Stats: GoColgateRaiders.com
Bucknell at a Glance
When: Wednesday, Sept. 22, 7 p.m.
Where: Emmitt Field at Holmes Stadium, Lewisburg, Pa.
Streaming: ESPN+
Live Stats: BucknellBison.com
Bucknell (4-4-1, 1-0-0 PL) at Colgate (4-4-0, 0-1-0 PL)
When: Saturday, Sept. 25, 7 p.m.
Where: Beyer-Small '76 Field, Hamilton, N.Y.
Streaming: ESPN+
Live Stats: GoColgateRaiders.com
Bucknell at a Glance
- The Bison look to build on Saturday's big 4-2 win over two-time defending Patriot League champion Navy with two more key conference games on tap this week. Bucknell hosts American on Wednesday night before traveling to Colgate on Saturday.
- Bucknell had been shut out by Navy three years in a row, with the last Bison goal against the Mids coming in the first half of the 2017 Patriot League championship game when Kendall Ham completed a stunning hat trick within the first 21 minutes of play. But on Saturday the Bison exploded for four goals, which were the most Navy had allowed in a league match since Bucknell's 4-3 win in Lewisburg all the way back in 2005.
- Patriot League goal-scoring leader Rylee Donaldson hit the back of the net twice to help stake Bucknell to a 3-0 lead against Navy. The Mids pulled two back and seemed to have all the momentum late in the contest, but freshman midfielder Teresa Deda scored a clutch goal – the first of her career – in the 86th minute to lock up the three points.
- Deda also assisted on one of Donaldson's goals, and on Monday she was named the Patriot League Midfielder of the Week and Rookie of the Week. That assist was her sixth of the season, which leads the Patriot League. The six assists are already tied for 10th most in a season in team history.
- Donaldson's five goals are one more than Navy's Caitlin Doran, who also scored in Saturday's game. Donaldson also leads the Patriot League in points with 11, two more than Lehigh's Ava Schaller and Boston University's Jenna Oldham.
- Abby Gerhart returned from a two-game injury absence and assisted on Bucknell's first two goals of the day against Navy. She now ranks third in the league with four assists and ninth with six points on the season.
- Bucknell, Boston University and Loyola all won on the first Patriot League matchday of the season. All three teams play at home on Wednesday, with Loyola hosting Navy and Boston University hosting Colgate.
- 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 24-8-2.
- Jenna Hall has seen the bulk of the action in goal thus fall. She has started all nine games, with her only rest coming in the second half at Mount St. Mary's, when Kaylee Donnelly logged 45 scoreless minutes. Hall has 50 saves and 13 goals against for a .794 save percentage. That figure is second-best in the Patriot League. Hall's 1.49 goals-against average is misleading, considering that among the 13 goals she has conceded, three have come on penalty kicks and three more on own goals.
- The Bison have made a concerted effort to generate more scoring opportunities this season, and they currently lead the league in goals (1.56 per game), shots (15.7) and corner kicks (5.67).
- Bucknell scored 14 goals over the entire 2019 season and had just one in five games in the abbreviated spring 2021 season, but the Bison already have 14 in nine games this year.
- Midfielders Deda (6), Gearhart (4) and Kenar Gelman (3) have combined for 13 assists.
- Bucknell graduated five players from last year's squad that finished 1-2-2: 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 56-45-11 (.549) overall record at Bucknell, including a 31-14-6 (.667) 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 Eagles played Holy Cross to a 1-1 draw in D.C., in their league opener on Saturday and now stand 3-4-1 on the season.
- American's three wins all came in succession on the road, against Longwood (2-1), Delaware State (2-0) and George Washington (2-0).
- American has been outscored 11-8 on the season. Tate Jordan leads the team with three goals. Brooke Steele has two, and Fisayo Iluyomade, Juliana Saling and Alysa Vazquez have one each.
- Tate scored in the 59th minute on Saturday against Holy Cross, but the Crusaders equalized with five minutes remaining.
- Julia Kato has played every minute in goal this season and has 35 saves with 11 goals against.
- Head coach Marsha Harper is in her second season at AU. The Eagles went 0-4-1 last spring, with the draw coming in the season finale against eventual league champion Navy.
- Bucknell is 12-8-2 all-time against American, including an active seven-game unbeaten streak (6-0-1).
- The Bison won 1-0 at Reeves Field last March. Chloe Christakos headed in Lea Tarzy's corner kick in the 42nd minute for the game's only goal.
- The most recent meeting in Lewisburg was a 1-1 draw late in the 2019 campaign. Morgan Brinson scored just 11:09 into the match for American, but Abby Gearhart's first collegiate goal put the Bison on the board in the 28th.
- Bucknell has outscored American 17-3 during this seven-game unbeaten streak.
- American's last win over the Bison was a 3-0 verdict in D.C. in 2013, and the Eagles' last win in Lewisburg was a 1-0 decision in 2012.
- Colgate is 4-4 over its first eight games, including a 2-1 overtime loss at Loyola on Saturday. All four of the Raiders' losses have come by a single goal on the road, with the last two coming in overtime against Villanova and Loyola.
- Colgate is 3-0 at home thus far, with the wins coming against Fordham (1-0), Eastern Michigan (1-0) and Binghamton (3-2).
- The Raiders have outscored their opponents 10-9 on the season, and nine of their 10 goals have come from the trio of Ruby Diodati, Hannah Pinkus and Ally Giovino, who have three each. Adrienne Vaughn scored the goal against Loyola on Saturday, and Diodati and Pinkus have two assists apiece for a team-high eight total points.
- Diodati was selected as the Patriot League Preseason Defensive Player of the Year, and she joined Vaughn, Pinkus and Lyna Schaffer on the Preseason All-Patriot League Team. Colgate was picked third in the preseason poll, behind Navy and Boston University.
- Grace Poncsak got the start in goal against Loyola, her second start and third appearance of the season. Emma Hickey started the other six games. The duo has combined for 19 saves and nine goals against on the season.
- Colgate's nine goals allowed are the fewest in the Patriot League.
- Head coach Lyndse Hokanson is in her second season in charge of the Raiders. She led the team to a 4-3-1 record and a berth in the Patriot League championship game last spring. After beating Boston University 1-0 in overtime in the semifinals, Colgate fell to Navy in penalty kicks in the final.
- Bucknell has another busy week ahead with a non-conference road test at Princeton next Tuesday, followed by a trip to Holy Cross on Sunday afternoon. Princeton is 6-1-1 on the season, with the lone loss coming to Hofstra last week. The Tigers have been ranked in the top 25 nationally this season and are currently among others receiving votes.
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