Bucknell University Athletics
Photo by: Lianne Garrahan
Deda, Hall Receive Major Awards, Five Bison Earn Women’s Soccer All-Patriot League Honors
10/28/2022 3:00:00 PM | Women's Soccer
LEWISBURG, Pa. – After finishing in second place in the regular season, the Bucknell women's soccer team was well-represented in the year-end All-Patriot League voting on Friday. The Bison garnered two major award-winners and five All-Patriot League honorees, including a league-high four First Team selections.
Sophomore Teresa Deda was picked as the Patriot League Midfielder of the Year, while junior Jenna Hall was named the Goalkeeper of the Year. Deda and Hall were joined on the All-Patriot League First Team by senior forward Rylee Donaldson and senior midfielder Abby Gearhart, and junior defender Brooke Tracey was a Third Team selection.
Bucknell had five all-conference selections for the second year in a row, and the four First Team honorees are tied for the most in team history. The 2007, 2008, and 2016 squads also placed four on the First Team.
A year ago, Deda became the first Bison freshman to earn First Team honors since Kelliann Doherty in 2007, and now she is the first in team history to be named to the First Team in each of her first two seasons. Deda backed up her outstanding rookie campaign with a stellar sophomore year, and she is the first Bison to earn Midfielder of the Year honors since the award was created in 2016.
Deda has two goals, both coming in league wins over Holy Cross and Boston University, and a PL-high eight assists. She also led the league in assists last season with 12, and her 20 career assists already rank third in team history, even though she is still in the midst of her sophomore season. Lisa Gibbons (35) and Liz Woodrow (22) are the only other Bison with at least 20.
Deda, who was also the Preseason Midfielder of the Year, leads the Patriot League with 54 shot attempts, and she had two-assist games against Lafayette and Saint Francis. The Bison are 7-0 this season when Deda records a point.
Hall moved up from the Third Team in 2021 to the First Team this season, and she becomes Bucknell's first Patriot League Goalkeeper of the Year since Jessica Ratner in 2016. Hall enters the postseason as the Patriot League leader in goals-against average (0.74), and she ranks second in save percentage (.844) and solo shutouts (7).
Hall has been at her best late in the season. Her streak of 402 consecutive scoreless minutes, which included four straight shutouts, came to an end in Saturday's 1-1 draw with Lehigh in the regular-season finale. She made a season-high eight saves in a scoreless draw with Loyola and had seven in a 0-0 tie with Army. Hall also blanked 17th-ranked West Virginia and Air Force on the road in non-league play.
Hall now has 15 career shutouts, which are tied with Kathryn Sutton for second-most in team history. Ratner holds the record with 22 from 2013-16.
Donaldson repeats as a First Team All-Patriot League selection after earning Offensive Player of the Year honors in 2021. A dangerous threat who occupies quite a bit of attention from opposing defenses, Donaldson ranks sixth in the league in goals (4), eighth in assists (3), and sixth in points (11).
Donaldson recorded a brace in the season opener against Saint Francis, she had a goal and an assist at Lafayette, and she assisted on key goals against American and Colgate. Donaldson, who was also a Second Team All-Region selection last year, has 15 goals and five assists in her career.
Gearhart has enjoyed a sensational senior season thus far, and she heads into the postseason tied for the league lead with six goals and third in points with 14. She got red-hot for a stretch in Patriot League play, scoring five goals in a span of four league games, all of which were Bucknell victories. She scored in the 81st minute in a 1-0 road win over American, and she followed that up with the opening goal in a 3-0 win over Colgate, two goals in a 5-1 win over Holy Cross, and the opening goal in a 2-0 win at Lafayette.
Gearhart leads the league and ranks sixth in the nation in game-winning goals with five. Five other Division I players have six GWGs. Gearhart is now a two-time All-Patriot League selection after garnering Third Team honors in 2021.
Tracey earns her first career all-conference citation after establishing herself as one of the top center backs in the Patriot League. Now a two-year starter, Tracey is one of only two field players in the entire league who has played every minute of every match this season. She has played the full 90-plus minutes in 26 straight games dating back to last season, a streak that has now reached 2,386 consecutive minutes.
Even though she was the only returning starter in the back four, Tracey has anchored a dependable defensive unit that ranks second in the league in team goals-against average at 0.82.
Regular-season champion Army also had two major award winners, with Emma Richey named Defensive Player of the Year and Tracy Chao selected as the Coach of the Year. Lehigh's Corinne Lyght was picked as the Offensive Player of the Year, and Boston University's Giulianna Gianino was named Rookie of the Year.
The defending-champion Bison finished the regular season with an 8-5-4 overall record and a 5-1-3 mark in the Patriot League. As the No. 2 seed, Bucknell earned a bye into the Patriot League Tournament semifinals and will host a game against an opponent to be determined on Thursday, Nov. 3 at 7 p.m.
This Sunday's quarterfinal matchups feature No. 3 Boston University hosting No. 6 Loyola, and No. 4 Lehigh hosting No. 5 Navy. The better-seeded of the two quarterfinal winners will move on to face Bucknell, while the lower-seeded winner will travel to top-seeded Army.
Sophomore Teresa Deda was picked as the Patriot League Midfielder of the Year, while junior Jenna Hall was named the Goalkeeper of the Year. Deda and Hall were joined on the All-Patriot League First Team by senior forward Rylee Donaldson and senior midfielder Abby Gearhart, and junior defender Brooke Tracey was a Third Team selection.
Bucknell had five all-conference selections for the second year in a row, and the four First Team honorees are tied for the most in team history. The 2007, 2008, and 2016 squads also placed four on the First Team.
A year ago, Deda became the first Bison freshman to earn First Team honors since Kelliann Doherty in 2007, and now she is the first in team history to be named to the First Team in each of her first two seasons. Deda backed up her outstanding rookie campaign with a stellar sophomore year, and she is the first Bison to earn Midfielder of the Year honors since the award was created in 2016.
Deda has two goals, both coming in league wins over Holy Cross and Boston University, and a PL-high eight assists. She also led the league in assists last season with 12, and her 20 career assists already rank third in team history, even though she is still in the midst of her sophomore season. Lisa Gibbons (35) and Liz Woodrow (22) are the only other Bison with at least 20.
Deda, who was also the Preseason Midfielder of the Year, leads the Patriot League with 54 shot attempts, and she had two-assist games against Lafayette and Saint Francis. The Bison are 7-0 this season when Deda records a point.
Hall moved up from the Third Team in 2021 to the First Team this season, and she becomes Bucknell's first Patriot League Goalkeeper of the Year since Jessica Ratner in 2016. Hall enters the postseason as the Patriot League leader in goals-against average (0.74), and she ranks second in save percentage (.844) and solo shutouts (7).
Hall has been at her best late in the season. Her streak of 402 consecutive scoreless minutes, which included four straight shutouts, came to an end in Saturday's 1-1 draw with Lehigh in the regular-season finale. She made a season-high eight saves in a scoreless draw with Loyola and had seven in a 0-0 tie with Army. Hall also blanked 17th-ranked West Virginia and Air Force on the road in non-league play.
Hall now has 15 career shutouts, which are tied with Kathryn Sutton for second-most in team history. Ratner holds the record with 22 from 2013-16.
Donaldson repeats as a First Team All-Patriot League selection after earning Offensive Player of the Year honors in 2021. A dangerous threat who occupies quite a bit of attention from opposing defenses, Donaldson ranks sixth in the league in goals (4), eighth in assists (3), and sixth in points (11).
Donaldson recorded a brace in the season opener against Saint Francis, she had a goal and an assist at Lafayette, and she assisted on key goals against American and Colgate. Donaldson, who was also a Second Team All-Region selection last year, has 15 goals and five assists in her career.
Gearhart has enjoyed a sensational senior season thus far, and she heads into the postseason tied for the league lead with six goals and third in points with 14. She got red-hot for a stretch in Patriot League play, scoring five goals in a span of four league games, all of which were Bucknell victories. She scored in the 81st minute in a 1-0 road win over American, and she followed that up with the opening goal in a 3-0 win over Colgate, two goals in a 5-1 win over Holy Cross, and the opening goal in a 2-0 win at Lafayette.
Gearhart leads the league and ranks sixth in the nation in game-winning goals with five. Five other Division I players have six GWGs. Gearhart is now a two-time All-Patriot League selection after garnering Third Team honors in 2021.
Tracey earns her first career all-conference citation after establishing herself as one of the top center backs in the Patriot League. Now a two-year starter, Tracey is one of only two field players in the entire league who has played every minute of every match this season. She has played the full 90-plus minutes in 26 straight games dating back to last season, a streak that has now reached 2,386 consecutive minutes.
Even though she was the only returning starter in the back four, Tracey has anchored a dependable defensive unit that ranks second in the league in team goals-against average at 0.82.
Regular-season champion Army also had two major award winners, with Emma Richey named Defensive Player of the Year and Tracy Chao selected as the Coach of the Year. Lehigh's Corinne Lyght was picked as the Offensive Player of the Year, and Boston University's Giulianna Gianino was named Rookie of the Year.
The defending-champion Bison finished the regular season with an 8-5-4 overall record and a 5-1-3 mark in the Patriot League. As the No. 2 seed, Bucknell earned a bye into the Patriot League Tournament semifinals and will host a game against an opponent to be determined on Thursday, Nov. 3 at 7 p.m.
This Sunday's quarterfinal matchups feature No. 3 Boston University hosting No. 6 Loyola, and No. 4 Lehigh hosting No. 5 Navy. The better-seeded of the two quarterfinal winners will move on to face Bucknell, while the lower-seeded winner will travel to top-seeded Army.
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