Women's Soccer Travels to Towson, No. 17 West Virginia this Week

Thursday, September 8

Towson, Md.

7 p.m.

Bucknell University

Towson

Photo by: Lianne Garrahan

Women's Soccer Travels to Towson, No. 17 West Virginia this Week

9/7/2022 3:51:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Bucknell (3-2-0, 0-0-0 PL) at Towson (4-1-1, 0-0-0 CAA)
When: Thursday, Sept. 8, 7 p.m. ET
Where: Tiger Field, Towson, Md.
Streaming: FloSports
Live Stats: TowsonTigers.com

Bucknell (3-2-0, 0-0-0 PL) at #17 West Virginia (3-1-2, 0-0-0 Big 12)
When: Sunday, Sept.11, 1 p.m.
Where: Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium, Morgantown, W.Va.
Streaming: None
Live Stats: WVUSports.com

Bucknell at a Glance

Bucknell's five-game road stretch continues this week with games at Towson and No. 17 West Virginia, two sides with a combined 7-2-3 record thus far.
The Bison are looking to bounce back after a frustrating 1-0 loss at Youngstown State on Sunday. Bucknell outshot the Penguins 13-3, but Youngstown State scored on its only shot on target all day.
Bucknell had posted consecutive shutout wins over Air Force and Binghamton prior to the loss at Youngstown State. All told the Bison have conceded only four goals in five games this season.
The Bison have held three of their five opponents to single-digit shot totals and have outshot foes 88-46 on the season.
Rylee Donaldson, the 2021 Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year and 2022 Preseason Offensive Player of the Year, leads the team with three goals. Donaldson scored twice in a season-opening 4-1 win over Saint Francis (Pa.), and she added another early in last week's 2-0 win over Binghamton. Donaldson also scored in the first half against Mount St. Mary's, but the game was abandoned at halftime due to heavy thunderstorms.
Freshman Sydney Hess recorded her first collegiate goal in the Binghamton game. Hess headed in a corner kick in the second half to provide a key insurance goal.
Teresa Deda assisted on the Hess goal, giving her a team-high three assists on the season. 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 five games into her sophomore year. Deda was named the Patriot League Preseason Midfielder of the Year prior to the season.
Abby Gearhart, Reese Evans, Hannah Stuck, and Paige Temple also have goals for the Bison this season.
Goalkeeper Jenna Hall missed the opening weekend of the season due to injury but has come back in strong form. She went the full 90 in the 1-0 win at Air Force before splitting the last two games with senior Kaylee Donnelly, who has also played well this season. Hall has yet to concede a goal while making nine saves in 180 minutes.
Bucknell is 7-0-1 in its last eight home games, but the Bison do not play at home again until Sept. 24 against Colgate.
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.
The pundits have a more favorable opinion of the Bison heading into this season. After returning nine starters from last year's championship team, Bucknell was picked a close second in the preseason poll. In fact, only four points separate Navy (145), Bucknell (144), and Boston University (141) at the top of the poll. Loyola (116), Army (92), Lehigh (72), Colgate (71), Lafayette (47), American (38), and Holy Cross (21) rounded out the predictions.
Donaldson led the Patriot League with 10 goals a year ago, leading to 2021 Patriot League Player of the Year honors. She is one of four returning All-Patriot League honorees for the Bison. Donaldson and Deda were both first-team all-stars, while Gearhart and Hall were third-team selections. Donaldson also made the Academic All-Patriot League Team, and Deda was the PL Tournament MVP.
Bucknell returned 26 of its 30 goals from last year, with the missing four coming from graduated center back Claire Mensi. The Bison were the second-highest scoring team in the league in 2021, behind only Navy.
Three of the five members of last year's senior class are playing as graduate students with their extra year of eligibility this fall. Mensi is continuing her career at Boston College, Holly Burns is now at Monmouth, and Emilene Parham is playing at Appalachian State.
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.
The Bison went 6-1-2 at home last season, with the lone loss coming to No. 12 West Virginia.
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 66-51-13 (.558) overall record at Bucknell, including a 35-16-8 (.661) 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.

Towson at a Glance

The Tigers are off to a great start in 2022 at 4-1-1. Towson is riding a three-game winning streak, all at home against Mount St. Mary's (2-0), George Mason (2-1), and Saint Francis (Pa.) (3-0).
In their most recent outing, the Tigers outshot the Red Flash 17-6 and received two goals from Jasmine Hamid and one from Phoebe Canoles.
Canoles already has four goals in six games this season, and Hamid has a team-high three assists to go with her two goals.
Junior Nia Christopher, who is a member of the Bermuda national team, scored against Mount St. Mary's and Georgetown. Christopher scored 13 goals last season, third-most in team history. She was a First Team All-CAA selection last season and was picked as the 2022 CAA Preseason Player of the Year.
Towson posted an 8-7-3 record last season, its first winning campaign since 2007. The Tigers brought back their top five goal-scorers this fall.
Towson also has a two-time All-CAA goalkeeper in junior Riley Melendez, who posted a 0.96 goals-against average last season and is sitting at 0.67 through six games this year.
Towson plays another Patriot League opponent on Sunday when it visits Navy at 6 p.m.

The Bucknell-Towson Series

Bucknell is 7-4-1 all-time against Towson, including a perfect 4-0 record on Towson's home field.
The Bison are unbeaten (4-0-1) in the last five series meetings, but the draw came last season at rain-soaked Emmitt Field. Phoebe Canoles put the Tigers in front on a penalty kick in the 52nd minute, but the Bison tied it in dramatic fashion when Claire Mensi's shot went through the hands of the goalkeeper with 38 seconds remaining in regulation. Bucknell finished with a 23-14 shot advantage and received nine saves from goalkeeper Jenna Hall, including two highlight-reel stops in overtime.
Bucknell's last trip to Towson came in 2019, and the Bison won 2-1 on Abby Gearhart's 83rd-minute goal off an assist from Rylee Donaldson.

West Virginia at a Glance

The Mountaineers are ranked 17th in this week's United Soccer Coaches poll. WVU went 10-5-5 overall and 3-3-3 in the Big 12 last season. Its season ended in penalty kicks at the hands of Texas in the Big 12 Tournament semifinals.
This year's team is 3-1-2 and has posted three straight shutouts heading into a Thursday-night home game against Clemson. West Virginia last conceded on Aug. 25 in a 2-0 loss at Penn State, and since then the Mountaineers have beaten Saint Francis (Pa.) (3-0), tied No. 11 Auburn (0-0), and defeated No. 25 Samford (1-0).
Sunday's win over Samford was a neutral-site game played at Auburn, and West Virginia prevailed on a Jordan Brewster goal with 1:04 remaining in the match.
West Virginia has outscored its opponents 9-3 through six games and has a 91-50 shot advantage. The Mountaineers' nine goals have come from nine different players.
Kayza Massey, a Second Team All-Big 12 goalkeeper last season, has a tidy 0.50 goals-against average with 23 saves and only the three goals against.
Brewster, a fifth-year senior defender, was named to the MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List prior to the start of the season. Brewster is a two-time All-American and three-year captain.
West Virginia was picked third in this year's Big 12 preseason poll, behind defending champion TCU and Texas. The Mountaineers returned eight starters and 18 letterwinners from the 2021 squad.

The Bucknell-West Virginia Series

Bucknell and West Virginia have met twice previously, with both matchups coming in the last five years.
The two teams met for the first time in the first round of the 2017 NCAA Tournament. Bucknell was fresh off a thrilling 3-2 win at Navy in the Patriot League championship game and played well at seventh-ranked and second-seeded West Virginia, but the Mountaineers prevailed 3-0. The Bison trailed 1-0 at the half before the hosts added insurance goals in the 47th and 58th minutes.
The 12th-ranked Mountaineers made the trip to Lewisburg last season and had to come from behind to post a 3-1 verdict. Rylee Donaldson gave the Bison the lead 35 minutes into the match. Jenna Hall's booming punt all the way to the opposite 18 was tracked down by Abby Gearhart, who slipped a pass to Donaldson for the opening goal. West Virginia tied it two minutes later on an Abby Rodriguez goal, and then WVU scored on a Jordan Brewster penalty kick in the 59th minute and a Julianne Vallerand unassisted goal in the 73rd.

The Road Ahead

The West Virginia game will be Bucknell's final match before the start of Patriot League play.
On Friday, Sept. 16, the Bison head to Navy for a matchup of the top two teams in the Patriot League preseason poll. The Mids were picked first, by just one point over Bucknell. The Bison defeated Navy twice last season, 4-2 in Lewisburg in the regular season and 1-0 in overtime in Annapolis in the Patriot League Tournament semifinals.