Women's Soccer Back in Patriot League Title Match Sunday at Army, Game Televised on CBS Sports Network

#2 Bucknell (8-5-5, 5-1-3 PL) at #1 Army West Point (9-4-6, 6-1-2 PL)
Patriot League Tournament Championship
When: Sunday, Nov. 6, 2 p.m.
Where: Malek Stadium at Clinton Field, West Point, N.Y.
TV: CBS Sports Network
Live Stats: GoArmyWestPoint.com

How the Bison Got Here

The second-seeded Bison are back in the Patriot League championship match for the second year in a row and the eighth time overall after advancing past third-seeded Boston University in penalty kicks on Thursday night. After 110 scoreless minutes, Bucknell prevailed 4-3 in penalties, with senior Rylee Donaldson hitting the clincher to set off a pitch storming from the large student crowd.
Goalkeeper Jenna Hall not only earned her eighth solo shutout of the season, but she converted the first of Bucknell's four penalty kicks. Teresa Deda, Meghan White, and Donaldson followed from the spot.
Even though the semifinal game finished 0-0 after 110 minutes, there were a combined 32 shots, 18 corner kicks, and 18 saves from the goalkeepers. Bucknell outshot Boston University 21-11 and had an 11-7 edge in corners.
Hall made seven saves and now has eight shutouts for the second year in a row, the third-highest single-season total in team history. She also moved into sole possession of second place on the Bucknell career list with 16 clean sheets, four shy of Jessica Ratner's school record.
Bucknell finished 5-1-3 in Patriot League play to earn the No. 2 seed. The Bison and Boston University tied for second place, but Bucknell held the tiebreaker thanks to a 1-0 win in Boston on Oct. 15.
The Bison dropped their Patriot League opener to Navy 4-0, but since then they are 5-0-4 with only two goals conceded against league competition, including the semifinal game against Boston University.

Inside the Numbers

In nine games against Patriot League opponents since the Navy game, Bucknell has conceded two goals in 830 minutes, for a microscopic 0.22 goals-against average. That defensive record will be put to the test on Sunday against an Army side that has posted five goals in its last two games against Boston University and Lehigh.
Bucknell and Army are the Patriot League's two best defensive teams over the course of the full season. The Bison have a league-best 0.78 team goals-against average, just ahead of Army's 0.79. Fittingly, these two teams played a 0-0 draw in Lewisburg on Oct. 22.
The Bison rank 45th nationally out of 337 teams in scoring defense. Offensively, the Bison are fourth in the league in scoring at 1.17 goals per game.
Bucknell has experienced a bit of a late-season scoring slump with just two goals in its last five games. But thanks to that stingy defense, they are unbeaten at 1-0-4 in that stretch.
Bucknell's 264 shot attempts on the season are second-most in the Patriot League, trailing only Army's 277.
Bucknell's five draws this season are a new school record. Note that a 2022 rule change eliminated overtime in regular-season play. In the postseason, however, if the score is tied after 90 minutes, the teams play two full 10-minute overtime periods with no golden goal. If the score remains tied, the match will be decided in a penalty kick shootout.
After Thursday's result, Bucknell is now 2-2 all-time in penalty kick shootouts. The Bison advanced past Lehigh in the 2005 semifinals on the way to the league title, and they were eliminated in PKs by Army in the 2008 semis and Colgate in the 2013 quarterfinals.
Teresa Deda leads the Patriot League with eight assists and ranks sixth in the league in total points with 12.
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 has a team-high six goals, which now rank second in the Patriot League. Gearhart has been the league leader for much of the season, but Lehigh's Corinne Lyght moved in front when she scored her seventh against Navy in the quarterfinals last Sunday.
Five of Gearhart's six goals this season have been game-winners. That is the ninth-highest total in the nation.
Brooke Tracey is one of only two field players in the Patriot League who has played every minute of every game this season. The other is Lafayette's Rory Schauder. Tracey has actually played every minute in 27 straight games dating back to last season, a streak of 2,496 minutes.
Jenna Hall leads the Patriot League in goals-against average at 0.68 and save percentage (.859), and she is tied for the lead in solo shutouts (8). She ranks 15th nationally in save percentage and 37th in GAA.
Bucknell is 10-2-6 at home over the last two seasons, with the losses coming to national powers West Virginia and Princeton. The Bison are 6-0-5 in their last 11 home games against Patriot League opponents. The last PL team to win on Emmitt Field was Navy during the COVID-modified Spring 2021 campaign.
Since Emmitt Field debuted in 2005, Bucknell is 86-48-15 overall and 44-15-10 in Patriot League games at home.

Bucknell's Patriot League Tournament History

This is Bucknell's 23rd Patriot League Tournament appearance. The Bison are 13-15-4 in Patriot League Tournament matches, and they have won five championships (2001, 2005, 2016, 2017, 2021). Bucknell defeated Boston University in the 2016 and 2021 title games.
Bucknell has played in the Patriot League championship match seven times previously and is 5-1 in finals.
- 2001: #2 Bucknell 2, #1 Navy 1 (OT) – Lauren Schwarz wins it with a PK in OT
- 2005: #4 Bucknell 3, #3 Army 1 – Bison score 3 in 2nd half to become first 4 seed to win title
- 2007: #3 Navy 1, #1 Bucknell 0 – Carissa Youker scores game's lone goal late in 1st half
- 2015: #1 Boston U. 1, #2 Bucknell 0 – Chelsea Churchill wins it in 86th minute
- 2016: #1 Bucknell 2, #2 Boston U. 1 (OT) – Cora Climo scores the golden goal
- 2017: #2 Bucknell 3, #1 Navy 2 – Kendall Ham gives Bucknell a 3-0 lead with a hat trick in the game's first 21 minutes.
- 2021: #4 Bucknell 1, #1 Boston U. 0 – Bison take lead on own goal off corner kick in 75th minute.
Bucknell is 3-4-1 against Army in the Patriot League Tournament. The Bison have played Army more often in the postseason than any other opponent.
- 1991: Army 4-0 in semifinals
- 1992: Army 5-0 in semifinals
- 1993: Army 3-2 in semifinals
- 1996: Army 5-1 in semifinals
- 2005: Bucknell 3-1 in championship
- 2007: Bucknell 2-1 (OT) in semifinals
- 2008: Tied 0-0 in semifinals (Army 5-4 in PKs)
- 2014: Bucknell 2-1 in quarterfinals
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 in that span.
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.

Honors & Awards

Bucknell was well-represented in the postseason awards programs. Sophomore Teresa Deda (Patriot League Midfielder of the Year) and junior Jenna Hall (PL Goalkeeper of the Year) both received major awards. Deda, Hall, Rylee Donaldson, and Abby Gearhart were all named to the All-Patriot League First Team, and Brooke Tracey received a Third Team citation.
This was the second year in a row the Bison had five all-conference honorees, and the four First Team members are tied for the most in team history. The 2007, 2008, and 2016 squads also had four on the First Team.
Deda is the first Bison to earn First Team honors in each of her first two seasons. She is also the first Bucknell player to earn the Midfielder of the Year award since it was created in 2016.
Hall, Donaldson, and Gearhart are also two-time all-conference honorees. Donaldson repeated as a First Team selection – she was also the Offensive Player of the Year in 2021 – while Gearhart and Hall moved up from the Third Team in 2021.
Deda and Donaldson were named to the 11-player Academic All-Patriot League Team on Tuesday. Donaldson made it for the second year in a row.

On the Bench

Kelly Cook is in her eighth season on the Bison sideline. Cook owns a 71-54-18 (.559) overall record at Bucknell, including a 40-17-11 (.669) 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 have things rolling with only one loss in their last 13 matches (8-1-4). Since suffering a 90th-minute 1-0 loss at Colgate on Oct. 8, Army is 4-0-1, with the only dropped points coming in a 0-0 tie at Bucknell on Oct. 22.
Army is unbeaten at home this season at 8-0-1.
In the Patriot League regular-season finale, Army went to Boston and beat the Terriers 3-2 on a Kaelan Bradley goal with just 42 seconds remaining. A draw would have given Boston University the outright regular-season title and the No. 1 seed, but instead Army swiped the top spot in dramatic fashion.
Army advanced to the final with a 2-0 win over 4th-seeded Lehigh on Thursday. Lindsey Smith scored in the 20th minute, and Brigid Duffy tacked on an insurance goal in the 63rd.
Center back Emma Richey is the 2022 Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year. She was joined on the All-Patriot League First Team by Lauren Drysdale. Bradley, Smith, Dara Murray, and Sage Strohman were all Second Team selections.
Tracy Chao was selected as the Patriot League Coach of the Year.
Army has outscored foes 26-15 in 19 games this season.
Murray and Kaitlin Palaian share the team lead with four goals. Murray, who scored three of her four goals in a hat trick against Wagner, also has a team-high five assists.
Strohman has had a good year between the pipes, starting 18 of the 19 games in goal. She ranks second to Bucknell's Jenna Hall among Patriot League goalkeepers with a 0.86 goals-against average. Her .808 save percentage is third-best in the league behind Hall and Navy's Mattie Gallagher.

The Bucknell-Army Series

This has been a tight series through the years, with Army holding a narrow 19-17-3 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 15-10-3 against the Black Knights.
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.
On Oct. 22 at Emmitt Field, Bucknell and Army put their stout defenses on display in a 0-0 draw. The teams were tied for the Patriot League lead at the time. Both teams marked extremely well in the final third, with very few quality chances coming from inside the boxes. The Bison finished with a 14-11 shot advantage. Jenna Hall finished with seven saves and Sage Strohman five.

The Road Ahead

Sunday's winner will receive the Patriot League's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
The NCAA Tournament selection show will be held on Monday, Nov. 7 at 4 p.m. and will be streamed on NCAA.com.

Bucknell University Athletics

Women's Soccer Back in Patriot League Title Match Sunday at Army, Game Televised on CBS Sports Network

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