Sunday, November 6
West Point, N.Y.
2 p.m.
Bucknell University
8-5-5, 5-1-4
0
at
0
Army (PL Championship)
9-4-7, 6-1-3
1
2
3
4
5
F
Bucknell
0
0
0
0
0
0
Army West Point
0
0
0
0
0
0
Photo by: Lianne Garrahan
PATRIOT LEAGUE CHAMPIONS AGAIN! Women's Soccer Prevails in PKs at West Point
11/6/2022 5:05:00 PM | Women's Soccer
WEST POINT, N.Y. – For the second time in three days, Rylee Donaldson converted the winning penalty kick, and the Bucknell women's soccer team repeated as Patriot League champions on Sunday afternoon, prevailing 3-1 in penalty kicks over top-seeded Army West Point at steamy Malek Stadium and Clinton Field. After 110 minutes of tense, scoreless soccer, the second-seeded Bison missed on their first two attempts in penalties, but Jenna Hall made a crucial save, and Teresa Deda, Meghan White, and Donaldson made three straight from the spot to clinch the title.Â
Now 8-5-6 on the season, Bucknell is heading to the NCAA Tournament for the sixth time in school history and the second year in a row. The Bison will learn their NCAA fate on Monday when the first-round pairings are announced on NCAA.com at 4 p.m. Â
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"I couldn't be prouder of this group for the way they stuck together and found a way to win a championship," said head coach Kelly Cook. "Army is a great team, and we knew that goals were going to be hard to come by today. Our back line was terrific once again, and Jenna Hall came up big when we needed her in overtime and in penalty kicks."
The two best defensive teams in the Patriot League played a scoreless draw for the second time in two weeks. Neither team generated much in the way of scoring chances in the first half in this one, but the game opened up a bit in the second half.
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Not even a minute into the second stanza Abby Gearhart slotted a shot off the right goalpost. Two minutes later, Army (9-4-7) earned its first corner kick of the day, and the Bison had to scramble to clear away the loose ball.
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Hall's best save in regulation came in the 56th minute, when Brigit Duffy got in behind on a clear breakaway. Hall charged off her line to smother the shot off of Duffy's foot and keep the game scoreless. Duffy was a handful off the bench, finishing with a game-high seven shot attempts.
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In the 72nd minute, Reese Evans put a shot over the bar on a free kick from just outside the box. The Bison had to defend a flurry of three straight corner kicks at the other end before earning one of their own, and Sydney Hess had her header saved by Sage Stohman before putting the rebound over.
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The Bison had one last chance to win it in regulation with a minute to play, but Deda's cross from the byline just missed the head of Gearhart in front of the goal.
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Army had the better of play in the first overtime period. Hall was needed for three saves, including one in tight on Izzy Fontana on a rebound. Defenders White and Katie Schiano both had important interventions in the box as well.
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Deda hit the crossbar with a curling shot in the 105th minute, but the match ended scoreless with 19 shots apiece.
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Bucknell appeared to be in trouble as the penalty kick shootout began with Hannah Stuck hitting the crossbar, followed by Lauren Drysdale converting for Army. Hall, who hit a PK in the semifinal win over Boston University on Thursday, this time was denied by Stohman.
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Cami Silvestro hit the crossbar for Army to keep it 1-0 after two rounds, and then Deda got the Bison on the board. Duffy missed the top right corner for the Black Knights to keep it 1-1 after three. The freshman White hit the top right corner for the second straight game, and then Hall dove to her right to make a spectacular save on Kaitlin Palaian.
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That set up Donaldson to clinch it for the second straight match. Strohman guessed correctly with a dive to her right, but the ball went off her mitts and across the goal line. Not long after, Donaldson was swarmed by her teammates as the Bison celebrated another title.
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Donaldson was named Tournament MVP, and she was joined on the All-Tournament Team by Hall, Deda, and White.
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Now 8-5-6 on the season, Bucknell is heading to the NCAA Tournament for the sixth time in school history and the second year in a row. The Bison will learn their NCAA fate on Monday when the first-round pairings are announced on NCAA.com at 4 p.m. Â
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"I couldn't be prouder of this group for the way they stuck together and found a way to win a championship," said head coach Kelly Cook. "Army is a great team, and we knew that goals were going to be hard to come by today. Our back line was terrific once again, and Jenna Hall came up big when we needed her in overtime and in penalty kicks."
Back to Back! 🏆🤷‍♀️#rayBucknell pic.twitter.com/PObUhNbhHh
— Bucknell Women's Soccer (@Bucknell_WSOC) November 6, 2022
ÂYour 2022 @PatriotLeague champions! Rylee Donaldson, who hit the winning PK in both tourney games, is your MVP. #rayBucknell🔶🔷 pic.twitter.com/BiHRZ98njB
— Bucknell Women's Soccer (@Bucknell_WSOC) November 6, 2022
The two best defensive teams in the Patriot League played a scoreless draw for the second time in two weeks. Neither team generated much in the way of scoring chances in the first half in this one, but the game opened up a bit in the second half.
Â
Not even a minute into the second stanza Abby Gearhart slotted a shot off the right goalpost. Two minutes later, Army (9-4-7) earned its first corner kick of the day, and the Bison had to scramble to clear away the loose ball.
Â
Hall's best save in regulation came in the 56th minute, when Brigit Duffy got in behind on a clear breakaway. Hall charged off her line to smother the shot off of Duffy's foot and keep the game scoreless. Duffy was a handful off the bench, finishing with a game-high seven shot attempts.
Â
In the 72nd minute, Reese Evans put a shot over the bar on a free kick from just outside the box. The Bison had to defend a flurry of three straight corner kicks at the other end before earning one of their own, and Sydney Hess had her header saved by Sage Stohman before putting the rebound over.
Â
The Bison had one last chance to win it in regulation with a minute to play, but Deda's cross from the byline just missed the head of Gearhart in front of the goal.
Â
Army had the better of play in the first overtime period. Hall was needed for three saves, including one in tight on Izzy Fontana on a rebound. Defenders White and Katie Schiano both had important interventions in the box as well.
Â
Deda hit the crossbar with a curling shot in the 105th minute, but the match ended scoreless with 19 shots apiece.
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Bucknell appeared to be in trouble as the penalty kick shootout began with Hannah Stuck hitting the crossbar, followed by Lauren Drysdale converting for Army. Hall, who hit a PK in the semifinal win over Boston University on Thursday, this time was denied by Stohman.
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Cami Silvestro hit the crossbar for Army to keep it 1-0 after two rounds, and then Deda got the Bison on the board. Duffy missed the top right corner for the Black Knights to keep it 1-1 after three. The freshman White hit the top right corner for the second straight game, and then Hall dove to her right to make a spectacular save on Kaitlin Palaian.
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That set up Donaldson to clinch it for the second straight match. Strohman guessed correctly with a dive to her right, but the ball went off her mitts and across the goal line. Not long after, Donaldson was swarmed by her teammates as the Bison celebrated another title.
Hall tallied six saves en route to her ninth shutout of the season. She lowered her season goals-against average to a league-best 0.62. The Bison have now shut out six of their last seven opponents, but four of those ended in 0-0 ties. It was the 11th shutout of the season for the team, including two shared clean sheets for Hall and Kaylee Donnelly. That ties the school record, also held by the 2015 team.   ÂIn case you missed PKs from today's @PatriotLeague Championship, here's the full clip.@Bucknell_WSOC @NCAASoccer pic.twitter.com/IUyOgYH077
— Patriot League on ESPN (@PatriotLeagueTV) November 6, 2022
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Donaldson was named Tournament MVP, and she was joined on the All-Tournament Team by Hall, Deda, and White.
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Team Stats
BUCK
ARMY
Goals
0
0
Shots
19
19
Shots on Goal
8
6
Saves
6
8
Corners
6
9
Fouls
11
8
Game Leaders
Shots
7
SOG
3
Goals
0
Assists
0
Shots
3
SOG
0
Goals
0
Assists
0
Shots
3
SOG
2
Goals
0
Assists
0
mid
Shots
2
SOG
1
Goals
0
Assists
0
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