Saturday, October 22
Lewisburg, Pa.
2 p.m.
Bucknell University
vs
Army
Women's Soccer Hosts Army on Senior Day in Clash of Patriot League Co-Leaders
10/20/2022 2:12:00 PM | Women's Soccer
Army West Point (7-4-5, 5-1-1 PL) at Bucknell (8-5-2, 5-1-1 PL)
When: Saturday, Oct. 22, 2 p.m.
Where: Emmitt Field at Holmes Stadium, Lewisburg, Pa.
Streaming: ESPN+
Live Stats: BucknellBison.com
Bucknell at a Glance
Army at a Glance
When: Saturday, Oct. 22, 2 p.m.
Where: Emmitt Field at Holmes Stadium, Lewisburg, Pa.
Streaming: ESPN+
Live Stats: BucknellBison.com
Bucknell at a Glance
- The Bison host Army on Senior Day on Saturday afternoon, and the top spot in the Patriot League table is up for grabs. The Bison and Black Knights have identical 5-1-1 league records and are co-leaders with 16 points. Boston University is just one point behind, and all three of those squads have clinched a postseason berth with two games remaining in the regular season.
- A look at the table entering Match Day No. 8, along with each team's remaining fixtures:
- Bucknell 5-1-1 (16 pts.) – vs. Army, vs. Lehigh
- Army 5-1-1 (16) – at Bucknell, at Boston U.
- Boston University 5-2-0 (15) – at Loyola, vs. Army
- Lehigh 4-2-1 (13) – vs. American, at Bucknell
- Loyola 3-2-2 (11) – vs. Boston U., vs. American
- Navy 3-4-0 (9) – vs. Holy Cross, at Lafayette
- Colgate 2-4-1 (7) – vs. Lafayette, at Holy Cross
- American 1-4-2 (5) – at Lehigh, at Loyola
- Holy Cross 1-5-1 (4) – at Navy, vs. Colgate
- Lafayette 1-5-1 (4) – at Colgate, vs. Navy
- The top six teams qualify for the Patriot League Tournament. The top two seeds receive byes into the semifinals, and all games are hosted by the higher-seeded team.
- Bucknell will honor its seven seniors prior to Saturday's game. Rylee Donaldson, Kaylee Donnelly, Leanne Engemann, Abby Gearhart, Ashley Groeber, Alivia Handson, and Petie Nassetta comprise an impactful senior class that is 10-3-3 in league play over the last two seasons and played a big role in last year's Patriot League title.
- Since falling 4-0 at Navy in the first round of Patriot League play on Sept. 16, the Bison are 5-0-1 against league foes with a 12-1 goal differential.
- Holy Cross's Ashley Blaka scored at the 59:29 mark in Bucknell's 5-1 win at Emmitt Field on Oct. 1. That was the last goal the Bison have conceded. Goalkeeper Jenna Hall and the Bucknell defense come into the Army game riding a shutout streak of 300:31.
- Bucknell is the highest-scoring team in the Patriot League at 1.33 goals per game and the third-stingiest team in the league with an average of 0.87 goals allowed.
- The Bison are coming off a 1-0 road win over then-first-place Boston University last Saturday. Teresa Deda scored just 4:22 into the match, and the defense took it from there. Bucknell limited the Terriers to seven total shots, three of which were on goal.
- Hall was named the Patriot League Goalkeeper of the Week on Monday after she blanked Boston University and Loyola last week. She made a season-high eight saves, including several highlight-reel stops, in the scoreless draw with Loyola.
- Also honored by the league on Monday was Rookie of the Week Meghan White, who played all 180 minutes in the two shutouts last week. White has settled into the left back role and is enjoying a terrific freshman campaign.
- Deda's goal in Boston was her second of the season to go along with a Patriot League-high eight assists. Deda ranks fourth in the league in total points with 12. Her eight assists are 11th-most in the nation.
- Deda now has 20 career assists. The sophomore recently moved past Hall-of-Famer Jennifer Dervarics into sole possession of third place on Bucknell's all-time list. Lisa Gibbons (35) and Liz Woodrow (22) are the only other Bison to record 20 career assists.
- Abby Gearhart's streak of scoring goals in four straight Patriot League games ended last week against Loyola, but she still leads the league with six goals. Boston University's Morgan Fagan, Loyola's Baylee DeSmit, and Lehigh's Corinne Lyght all have five.
- Five of Gearhart's six goals this season have been game-winners. That is the third-highest total in the nation, trailing only Dayton's Itala Gemelli and Hartford's Imani Jenkins with six each.
- Donaldson ranks sixth in the Patriot League in goals (4) and fifth in points (11).
- Center back Brooke Tracey earned Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week honors on Oct. 10 after playing a starring role in a 2-0 shutout at Lafayette. Tracey is one of only three field players in the Patriot League who has played every minute of every game this season. The others are Lafayette's Rory Schauder and Lauren Cunningham. Tracey has actually played every minute in 24 straight games dating back to last season, a streak of 2,206 minutes.
- Hall now leads the Patriot League in goals-against average at 0.78, and she ranks second in save percentage (.830) and solo shutouts (6).
- Bucknell is 10-2-3 at home over the last two seasons, with the losses coming to national powers West Virginia and Princeton. The Bison are 6-0-2 in their last eight home games against Patriot League opponents. The last PL team to win on Emmitt Field was Navy during the COVID-modified Spring 2021 campaign.
- Bucknell is the defending Patriot League champion. Seeded fourth in the 2021 league tournament after being picked ninth in the preseason poll, Bucknell posted consecutive shutouts of Lehigh (2-0), Navy (1-0 OT), and Boston University (1-0) to claim the fifth conference title in team history. The Bison then held their own in a 2-0 loss to top-seeded Rutgers in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Scarlet Knights later advanced all the way to the College Cup semifinals.
- Bucknell last year became the first team to win three Patriot League Tournament games since the league expanded to a six-team format in 2013. Only teams seeded No. 1 or 2 — and thus earning a bye straight into the semifinals — had ever won the title.
- Bucknell was also the only team in the country seeded fourth or lower to win its conference tournament. Of the 28 Division I conference tournaments, 25 were won by No. 1 or 2 seeds. Michigan in the Big Ten and Memphis in the AAC won as No. 3 seeds, and Bucknell did it as a No. 4.
- Seniors Leanne Engemann and Petie Nassetta are the team co-captains in 2022.
- Kelly Cook is in her eighth season on the Bison sideline. Cook owns a 71-54-15 (.561) overall record at Bucknell, including a 40-17-9 (.674) 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.
Army at a Glance
- The Black Knights are coming off a 2-0 home win over Navy on Saturday night. Not only did Army claim the star against its arch-rival, but it moved into a tie for first place with Bucknell with two games remaining.
- Army does have a difficult schedule remaining, with road games at Bucknell and at Boston University to close out the regular season.
- Army is 7-4-5 overall, including a 7-0-1 mark at home and an 0-4-4 ledger on the road.
- The Black Knights have outscored their seven Patriot League opponents 7-2. Their only blemishes are a 1-1 draw at Loyola and a 1-0 loss at Colgate.
- Dara Murray and Kaitlin Palaian share the team lead with four goals. Murray, who recorded a hat trick against Wagner on Sept. 8, also has three assists for a team-high 11 points.
- Palaian's fourth goal of the season came against Navy on Saturday night. Her tally gave Army a 1-0 lead in the 42nd minute. Kaelan Bradley tacked on an insurance goal in the 76th minute.
- Goalkeeper Sage Strohman is enjoying an outstanding sophomore year. She has started 15 of the team's 16 games and has 48 saves with only 13 goals against.
- Emma Richey earned her second Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week honor on Monday after helping Army blank Lafayette and Navy.
- Richey and Lauren Drysdale were both Preseason All-Patriot League honorees. Army was picked fifth in the preseason poll after finishing sixth last season. The Black Knights upset No. 3 Loyola 2-1 on Jasmine Talley's overtime goal in the PL Tournament quarterfinals last fall, then they fell 1-0 at No. 1 Boston University in the semis.
- This has been a tight series through the years, with Army holding a narrow 19-17-2 lead dating back to 1991.
- Army won the first six and nine of the first 11 meetings between the teams. Since 1998, the Bison are 15-10-2 against the Black Knights.
- Bucknell has faced Army eight times in postseason play, more than any other league foe. The Bison are 3-4-1 in Patriot League Tournament matchups against the Black Knights, with Army advancing on penalty kicks after the draw in 2008. Bucknell defeated Army 3-1 in the 2005 Patriot League championship match to win the title for the second time in team history.
- Bucknell had won five straight games against Army until the Black Knights won 2-1 at Emmitt Field in 2019. The two teams did not meet again until last season, when Army stunned the Bison with two late goals to win 2-1.
- In last year's game at West Point, Paige Temple gave the Bison a 1-0 lead in the 31st minute, but Lindsey Smith tied it in the 72nd minute and Kaelan Bradley won it in the 88th for Army.
- The final match day of the regular season will be Wednesday, Oct. 26. Bucknell hosts Lehigh that evening, and then the top six teams in the league standings will move on to the Patriot League Tournament. Â Â Â Â Â
- The quarterfinal round will take place on Sunday, Oct. 30 for the teams seeded 3-6. The semifinals will be held on Thursday, Nov. 3, and the championship is set for Sunday, Nov. 6.
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