Women's Soccer Visits American Wednesday, Makes Home Return Saturday vs. Colgate

Bucknell (3-4-1, 0-1-0 PL) at American (1-1-5, 0-1-0 PL)
When: Wednesday, Sept. 21, 4 p.m.
Where: Reeves Field, Washington, D.C.
Streaming: ESPN+
Live Stats: AUEagles.com

Colgate (0-6-2, 0-1-0 PL) at Bucknell (3-4-1, 0-1-0 PL)
When: Saturday, Sept. 24, 12 p.m.
Where: Emmitt Field at Holmes Stadium, Lewisburg, Pa.
Streaming: ESPN+
Live Stats: BucknellBison.com

Bucknell at a Glance

The Bison play their fifth consecutive road game on Wednesday at American before finally returning home for the first time in 23 days to host Colgate on Saturday afternoon.
Bucknell will be looking to improve its road fortunes on Wednesday. The Bison are 1-4-1 away from home this season, with the win coming at Air Force on Aug. 28. On this current long away stretch, they have a quality 0-0 draw at No. 17 West Virginia but have also been kept off the scoreboard in losses to Youngstown State (1-0), Towson (2-0), and Navy (4-0).
Friday's Patriot League opener in Annapolis went to the Mids in a matchup of the two teams picked at the top of the Patriot League preseason poll. Rylee Donaldson rang a shot off the post a minute into the match, but Navy went ahead on an Alexa Riddle goal in the seventh minute and never looked back.
Bucknell had conceded only six goals in its first seven games before Navy put four on the board on Friday.
Bucknell's draw at West Virginia marked the program's first-ever point against a ranked opponent.
Rylee Donaldson, the reigning Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year and golden boot winner, leads the team with three goals on the season. Abby Gearhart, Reese Evans, Sydney Hess, Hannah Stuck, and Paige Temple have one each. Deda has a team-high three assists and leads the Patriot League in shot attempts with 28.
After leading the Patriot League with 12 helpers as a freshman in 2021, Deda is already up to seventh place on Bucknell's career assists chart with 15, just eight games into her sophomore year. Deda was named the Patriot League Preseason Midfielder of the Year prior to the season.
Bucknell is 7-0-1 in its last eight home games dating back to last season.
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 66-53-14 (.549) overall record at Bucknell, including a 35-17-8 (.650) 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.

American at a Glance

With overtime eliminated for regular-season matches in 2022, there figured to be more ties in the college game, and American is living proof. The Eagles own a win, a loss, and five draws thus far in 2022. American has tied each of its last four games, including a 1-1 result at Holy Cross in the Patriot League opener on Saturday.
American opened the season with a 3-0 loss at Elon followed by a 1-1 draw at High Point. The Eagles picked up an impressive 1-0 road win at South Florida, a 2021 NCAA Tournament team, on Aug. 25, and since then they have tied George Washington (0-0), William & Mary (0-0), Old Dominion (2-2), and Holy Cross.
Wednesday's contest will be just the second home game of the season for AU. All but the George Washington game have come on the road.
American has been outscored 7-5 in seven games this season. The Eagles' five goals have come from five different players: Fisayo Iluyomade, Izzy Kadzban, Cailin Panacek, Brooke Steel, and Alysa Vazquez. Purdue transfer Olivia Simmons has a pair of assists. Kadzban, a Florida transfer, scored the second-half game-winner against USF.
Julia Kato is having a strong sophomore season in goal, with 31 saves and seven goals against. Her .816 save percentage and 1.01 goals-against average are both second-best in the Patriot League behind Navy's Mattie Gallagher.
American was picked ninth in the Patriot League preseason poll. Asia Horne was named to the Preseason All-Patriot League Team after earning Second Team All-PL honors last year.

The Bucknell-American Series

Bucknell is 13-8-2 all-time against American, including an active eight-game unbeaten streak (7-0-1).
Bucknell won last year's meeting 3-0 at Emmitt Field. Paige Temple and Rylee Donaldson scored first-half goals, and Abby Gearhart added a third early in the second half. The Bison outshot the Eagles 16-8 and limited American to one shot on target. The game was played in heavy rain and was called off with 12:30 remaining due to lightning.
Gearhart has two career goals against American, as she also recorded her first collegiate tally against the Eagles in a 1-1 draw in 2019.
Bucknell's last trip to D.C. resulted in a 1-0 win in March of 2021. Chloe Christakos headed in Lea Tarzy's corner kick in the 42nd minute for the game's only goal.
Bucknell has outscored American 20-3 during this eight-game unbeaten streak.
American's last win over the Bison was a 3-0 verdict in D.C. in 2013, and the Eagles' last win in Lewisburg was a 1-0 decision in 2012.

Colgate at a Glance

The Raiders host Boston University on Wednesday night still in search of their first win in 2022. Colgate is 0-6-2, with the draws coming against Iona (2-2) and Canisius (0-0) at home.
Colgate dropped its Patriot League opener to Loyola, 1-0 in Hamilton on Saturday. The Greyhounds' Baylee DeSmit scored in the 89th minute. One game earlier, Colgate fell to Villanova on a goal with just 35 seconds left.
Like Bucknell, the Raiders are looking to get their offense going after being kept off the scoreboard in their last five matches. All four of Colgate's goals came in back-to-back games against Iona and Princeton in August.
Ally Giovino scored in both of those games and leads the team with two goals. Giovino scored seven times last season on the way to First Team All-Patriot League honors. Ari Bezanson and Maddie Cappillo also have goals.
Emma Hickey and Grace Poncsak have shared the goalkeeping duties this season, with each getting four starts. They split the Loyola game last time out. Poncsak has made 24 saves with seven goals allowed, while Hickey has eight saves with five goals conceded.
Colgate finished 7-8-2 overall and 3-4-2 in the Patriot League last season. That included a 5-0-2 mark at home.

The Bucknell-Colgate Series

Bucknell is 9-24-2 all-time against Colgate. The Raiders have more wins over the Bison than any other opponent.
Colgate won last year's meeting 3-0 in Hamilton, netting goals from Cara Schmidlein, Maddie Cappillo, and Hannah Pinkus.
Bucknell's last win over Colgate was a 1-0 verdict in Hamilton in 2019. Jenna Marek's 34th-minute goal was the difference. The Bison won despite being outshot 15-3.
This is Colgate's first trip to Lewisburg since 2018, when the Raiders won 2-0.

The Road Ahead

Bucknell plays its final non-conference game of the season at home on Tuesday night against Princeton at 7 p.m.
The next Patriot League encounter will be on Saturday, Oct. 1 against Holy Cross at noon at Emmitt Field.