Saturday, April 16
Washington, D.C.
1 p.m.
Bucknell University
at
American
Photo by: Marc Hagemeier
Women's Lax Visits American Saturday for Key Patriot League Clash
4/14/2022 12:05:00 PM | Women's Lacrosse
Bucknell (6-6, 3-2 PL) at American (7-5, 2-2 PL)
When:Â Saturday, Apr. 16, 1 p.m.Â
Where:Â Jacobs Recreational Complex, Washington, D.C.
Watch:Â ESPN+
Live Stats:Â AUEagles.com
Follow on Twitter:Â @Bucknell_WLAX
Bucknell at a Glance
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When:Â Saturday, Apr. 16, 1 p.m.Â
Where:Â Jacobs Recreational Complex, Washington, D.C.
Watch:Â ESPN+
Live Stats:Â AUEagles.com
Follow on Twitter:Â @Bucknell_WLAX
Bucknell at a Glance
- The Bison head to the Nation's Capital on Saturday for one of its biggest games in recent years. Last week's convincing 18-12 victory over then-first-place Army at Graham Field moved Bucknell to 3-2 in Patriot League play and into the fourth-place position in the standings. American, however, lurks just a half-game back at 2-2. The top six teams in the 10-team league qualify for the Patriot League Tournament. The top two seeds earn byes into the semifinals, while the third and fourth seeds get to host quarterfinal games.
- Bucknell, which is looking to get back to the postseason for the first time since 2017, has four games remaining on the regular-season schedule, with three of them on the road. After visiting American, the Bison travel to No. 6 Loyola next Wednesday, they host Boston University on Apr. 23, and they finish up at Holy Cross on Apr. 29.
- Bucknell turned in perhaps its most complete performance of the season in last week's win over Army. The offense recorded 18 goals on only 31 shots, and the defense limited the Patriot League's highest-scoring team to nine goals in the first 57 minutes of the game, with Army's last three coming in the closing minutes after the Bison had already built an 18-9 lead. The Black Knights entered the game averaging 19.0 goals en route to a 5-0 Patriot League record.
- Four Bison earned weekly honors on Monday after their terrific performances in the Army game. Emma Cashwell (3G, 1A, 8DC) was named Patriot League Midfielder of the Week; Abby Neff (3CT, 2GB) was named PL Defensive Player of the Week; Allie Boyce (4G, 1A) was selected as the PL Rookie of the Week; and Taylor Kopan (3G, 1A) earned Bison Athlete of the Week honors.
- Neff and Boyce were both honored by the Patriot League for the third time this season.
- Boyce leads the team and ranks 10th in the Patriot League with 29 goals on the season. She has recorded at least one goal in all but one game and has a point in all 12. Boyce has 16 goals in her last four outings and has scored three or more goals five times this season, including a high of seven in a win over Colgate on March 30. The Bucknell record for goals in a season by a freshman is 38, set by Arriana Sajjad in 2012 and Michelle Manion in 1986.
- Cashwell is also red hot. She has 12 goals and four assists in her last four games and is up to 21 goals and 10 assists for the season. Her eight draw controls against Army were a career high, and she has posted six or more DCs in four of her last six games.
- Laurel McHale (21-9-30), Tatumn Kohlbrenner (18-9-27), and Katie Wendell (17-6-23) have also topped the 20-point mark this season.
- Kopan joined the starting lineup on March 26 against Lafayette, and in the four games since then she has collected eight goals and three assists, including hat tricks against Lafayette and Army. The Bison are 3-1 since she moved into the starting group.
- Bucknell's veteran defensive unit of Neff, Eva Macris, Ella Payer, and Emily Baird turned in their best performance of the season against Army. Neff currently ranks third in the Patriot League in caused turnovers (1.50) and ground balls (2.25) per game, while Macris ranks fourth (1.42) and 10th (1.92), respectively. Payer is fifth in caused turnovers (1.42) and eighth in draw controls (4.75). As a team, Bucknell leads the Patriot League and ranks 14th nationally with 9.92 caused turnovers per game (American is second at 9.18).
- The Bison have also done a good job protecting the ball this season. They rank third in the league in fewest turnovers per game at 13.5, and they are clearing at a terrific 90.1-percent clip. That clearing rate ranks second in the league and 23rd nationally.
- Payer's team-high 57 draw controls are the fifth-most in a season in Bucknell history. She needs one more to catch Sajjad for the No. 4 spot on the list, and with 94 in her career she needs five more to jump into the top 10 all-time. Cashwell has 44 draw controls this season and needs five more to join Payer on the single-season top-10 list.
- Bucknell welcomed senior goalie Caitlin Tucker back from injury last week, and she recorded nine saves against Army. Tucker has a .448 save percentage and 12.71 goals-against average on the season.
- Bucknell was picked to finish eighth in the Patriot League preseason poll. Loyola was tabbed the preseason favorite, followed by Navy, Army, Lehigh, Boston University, Colgate, Holy Cross, Bucknell, American, and Lafayette.
- Seniors Cashwell and Macris, along with junior Payer, have been named captains for the 2022 season. Macris is in her second year as a captain.
- Payer is Bucknell's lone returning All-Patriot League selection. She earned the honor as a sophomore after leading the team with 24 draw controls while playing strong defense. Midfielder Mason Rode, who graduated last spring, joined Payer on the All-PL Second Team.
- Head coach Jackie Dando is in her third season as Bucknell's head coach. Each of the first two were disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, however. Former Colgate star Haley O'Hanlon and Veronica John joined the staff this season as assistant coaches.
- The Eagles are 7-5 overall, but after winning five straight games during the month of March, they are looking to snap a two-game losing streak when Bucknell comes to town on Saturday.
- American kicked off Patriot League play with wins over Lafayette (13-9) and Holy Cross (19-7), but most recently the Eagles have fallen to Army (17-14) and Loyola (18-8). In between, they had a game at Lehigh postponed due to COVID-19 protocols.
- American is the Patriot League's fourth-highest-scoring team at 13.1 goals per game, and its .486 shooting percentage is second-best behind only Loyola. Â
- Graduate student Emma Vinall (38-9-47), graduate student Kendall Goldblum (30-11-41), and senior Stefanie Walsh (27-13-40) have all topped the 40-point mark this season, while freshman Maddy Spratt (18-19-37) ranks among the Patriot League's assist leaders.
- Not only is Vinall the fourth-leading goal-scorer in the Patriot League, she has 89 draw controls on the season, second-most in the conference. She had eight goals and 12 draw controls in a win over Gardner-Webb earlier in the season. Â The Eagles are +23 on draws on the season.
- Mary Alice Collins is American's No. 1 goalie. She made 20 saves against Army and has a .461 save percentage on the season.
- American holds a 15-11 lead in an all-time series that dates back to 1994, although Bucknell has won the last five meetings in a row. The Eagles' last win over the Bison was a 16-6 verdict in D.C. in 2015.
- Bucknell won a wild 17-15 game at Graham Field last season. The Bison led 17-10 after Caroline Miller's goal with 19:22 to play before AU made things interesting with five straight goals. Casey Harkins pulled American within two with 2:28 to play and then won the draw control, but a big save from Caitlin Tucker and ground ball from Abby Neff helped the Bison run out the clock. Tucker came on in relief at halftime and made 10 second-half saves.
- Miller had a career day with five goals and an assist, and Emma Cashwell tallied three goals and one assist. Then-senior Mason Rode scored three goals and tied the school record with eight ground balls. Harkins led the Eagles with five goals and six assists, while Vinall scored four times and nabbed eight draw controls.
- No current Bison has ever played a game on American's home field, as this will be Bucknell's first game against the Eagles in D.C. since 2018. The Bison won that one 15-9 behind a five-point effort from Tegan Warren.
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