Women's Lacrosse Travels to Robert Morris Saturday

Saturday, February 25

Moon Township, Pa.

12 p.m.

Bucknell University

Robert Morris

Photo by: Lianne Garrahan

Women's Lacrosse Travels to Robert Morris Saturday

2/23/2023 2:31:00 PM | Women's Lacrosse

Bucknell (1-2) at Robert Morris (0-2)
When: Saturday, Feb. 25, 12 p.m.
Where: Joe Walton Stadium, Moon Township, Pa.
Live Stats: RMUColonials.com
Follow on Twitter: @Bucknell_WLAX

Bucknell at a Glance

Fresh off a convincing 17-12 win at Marist last weekend, the Bison head back out on the road this Saturday to face Robert Morris at Joe Walton Stadium.
Bucknell is 1-2 on the season. The Bison debuted with a 16-6 loss to a Penn State team that has since gone on to enter the national rankings. That was followed by a hard-fought 12-10 setback against a good UMBC squad, and then Bucknell entered the win column for the first time in 2023 with a strong road performance in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
Bucknell ran out to an 8-0 lead against Marist and then held off a late rally from the Red Foxes. Emily Baird logged a career-high four goals, none bigger than her tally with 10:02 left in the fourth quarter. It came just 42 seconds after a Marist goal that had capped a 6-1 run and cut Bucknell's lead to four. Baird also had five draw controls and two ground balls in the game.
Allie Boyce added three goals and an assist, Taylor McClain handed out four assists, and freshmen Bella Koch and Katie Browne added two goals apiece.
Bucknell had a great day at the draw circle, winning 20 of 33. Caitlin McHale and Ella Payer collected seven draw controls apiece, along with the five from Baird. McHale also led the team with three caused turnovers and three ground balls.
Taylor McClain ranks second in the Patriot League with eight assists on the season. She also has one goal for a team-high nine points. Boyce and Taylor Kopan have five goals apiece, followed by Baird and Megan Krestinski with four.
Payer (16) and McHale (13) have both reached double figures in draw controls, and Baird leads the squad with five caused turnovers.
Symone Ryans has started all three games in goal and has 33 saves with 38 goals against. Her 11.0 saves per game is the second-highest mark in the Patriot League.
The Bison are coming off a 6-10 season in 2022. Bucknell was 6-6 overall and 3-2 in the Patriot League after an 18-12 win over second-place Navy, but the Bison dropped their final four games – two coming by just one goal – and finished one game out of a Patriot League Tournament spot.
Bucknell was picked to finish seventh in the Patriot League preseason poll. Loyola, which is ranked eighth nationally in the IL/IWLCA Poll, was tabbed the preseason favorite, followed by Army, Navy, Lehigh, Colgate, American, Bucknell, Boston University, Holy Cross, and Lafayette.
The Bison graduated three of their top five scorers, but they did bring back 110 of their 176 goals from last season. That includes a team-high 36 from Allie Boyce (36-5-41), who was one of the Patriot League's top newcomers a year ago. Tatumn Kohlbrenner (20-10-30), Taylor Kopan (22-5-27), Caroline Miller (14-7-21), and Taylor McClain (6-12-18) are other top returning point-producers.
Payer is in her second year as a team co-captain, and she is joined this year by classmates Caitlin McHale and Caroline Miller.
Payer is a two-time Second Team All-Patriot League selection (2021, 2022), and she was also named to the 2023 Preseason All-Patriot League Team. Payer, who was also an Academic All-Patriot League honoree last season, ranked third in the Patriot League in caused turnovers with 21 and seventh in the league in draw controls with 82. That draw control total was the second-highest in team history and was boosted by a school-record 15 DCs in the final game of the season at Holy Cross.
Head coach Jackie Dando is in her fourth season as Bucknell's head coach, and she is joined by a new pair of assistants in Liza Oakley and Katie Lasater. Oakley handles the defense and draws, while Lasater works with the attackers and goalies.

Robert Morris at a Glance/Series History

The Colonials are seeking their first win of the season after falling on the road to Ohio State (18-6) and Cincinnati (24-9) over the first two weeks.
In their most recent game, the Colonials trailed Cincinnati 16-9 after a wild 25-goal first half but then were blanked in the second half.
Colleen Tifft is the team's top scorer with five points on three goals and two assists. She is followed by Jerica Obee (2-2-4), Chelsea Coleman (3-0-3), and Julia Koterwas (2-1-3).
RMU has been good on draws thus far with 30 draw controls in two games. Jordan Anderson leads the team with 14.
Jamie Keller has started both games in goal and has eight saves with 24 goals against. Sydney Riker has also played in both contests and has eight saves with 18 goals allowed.
Robert Morris is coming off a 9-9 season that included an 8-2 record in the Mid-American Conference. The Colonials shared the MAC regular-season title with Central Michigan and later fell 20-10 to the Chippewas in the MAC Tournament final. Robert Morris won the MAC title in 2021 in its first season in the league.
Bucknell defeated Robert Morris 17-6 last season to even the all-time series at 5-5. This will be Bucknell's first game at RMU since 2020, when the Colonials won 11-8.
Four of the 10 series meetings have been one-goal games, along with two others decided by two goals and two more with three-goal margins.
Last season Bucknell set series records for goals in a game and widest victory margin. Katie Wendell had a big day with four goals and two assists, and Tatumn Kohlbrenner (3-0-3), Amy Roche (2-1-3), Laurel McHale (2-1-3), and Emma Cashwell (1-2-3) all tallied three points. Symone Ryans was stellar in goal with 11 saves and only six goals allowed. Bucknell outshot Robert Morris 42-24 despite losing the draw control battle 15-12.