Saturday, March 25
Easton, Pa.
4 p.m.
Bucknell University
5-4, 1-1PL
17
at
15
Lafayette
1-10, 0-3PL
1
2
3
4
F
Bucknell University
8
4
3
2
17
Lafayette College
3
3
5
4
15
Photo by: Ben Popko
Women’s Lacrosse Holds off Lafayette on Road, 17-15
3/25/2023 7:15:00 PM | Women's Lacrosse
EASTON, Pa. – On a day when senior Ella Payer became Bucknell's all-time leader in draw controls, it was her game-high ninth of the day with just over a minute to go that allowed the Bison to run out the clock and escape Fisher Stadium with a 17-15 Patriot League win over Lafayette. Allie Boyce led a potent offensive attack with four goals as Bucknell improved to 5-4 overall and 1-1 in league play.
Emily Baird and Caroline Sheridan added three goals each and Megan Krestinski handed out three assists for the Bison, who never trailed in the game. Bucknell scored eight goals in a wild first quarter and led 12-6 at halftime, but the Leopards (1-10, 0-3 PL) made a spirited second-half comeback.
Lafayette opened the second half on a 5-1 run to pull within 13-11, but goals from Carly Cenci and Boyce in the final 2:20 of the third quarter and another from Sheridan 35 seconds into the fourth seemingly stemmed the tide. But the Leopards had another run in them, and they closed the gap to 16-14 on a Kerry Tuorto goal with 7:02 to play.
A big draw control from Colleen Kelly led to Caroline Miller's second goal of the day from the 8-meter line, giving Bucknell a 17-14 lead with 6:03 to go. Clare Culligan completed her hat trick with 1:07 to play to make it a 17-15 game. After a Bucknell timeout, Payer cleanly nabbed the draw control, and the Bison played possessed the ball for the final minute.
It was a 2-2 game less than five minutes in before the Bison made the game's first big run. Taylor Kopan gave the Bison the lead for good and then Krestinski fed Sheridan to make it 4-2. After Sara Rogers answered for the Leopards, Baird scored twice in a span of 21 seconds. A Symone Ryans save led to a pretty transition goal, with Krestinski finding Taylor McClain on the left side of the crease and then Boyce converted a free-position shot to make it 8-3 after one period.
Up 11-6 late in the half, Baird picked off a pass near midfield and then ripped a shot off the post. Sheridan was first to the rebound and fired it home to give the Bison a six-goal lead at intermission.
It was a foul-filled game on a wet day in Easton, and 14 of the game's 32 goals came on free-position shots, including eight by Bucknell on 14 attempts. The Bison finished with a 38-26 shot advantage and a 21-15 edge in ground balls and a 20-16 lead in draw controls.
Lafayette goalie Lexie Coldiron had a huge day with 15 saves, eight coming in the second quarter to keep her team in the game. Ryans tallied eight saves for Bucknell.
Payer and Baird were all over the field for the Bison. Baird finished with three goals, an assist, seven draw controls, and three ground balls. In addition to her game-high nine draw controls, Payer added five ground balls and four caused turnovers.
Payer now has a Bucknell-record 172 career draw controls. She was one shy of the mark entering the day, and she tied and broke the record early in the contest. The previous school record was 164, set by Bonnie Buechel during her outstanding career from 2006-09.
Bucknell returns to action on Wednesday at Colgate before hosting Lehigh on Saturday.
Emily Baird and Caroline Sheridan added three goals each and Megan Krestinski handed out three assists for the Bison, who never trailed in the game. Bucknell scored eight goals in a wild first quarter and led 12-6 at halftime, but the Leopards (1-10, 0-3 PL) made a spirited second-half comeback.
Lafayette opened the second half on a 5-1 run to pull within 13-11, but goals from Carly Cenci and Boyce in the final 2:20 of the third quarter and another from Sheridan 35 seconds into the fourth seemingly stemmed the tide. But the Leopards had another run in them, and they closed the gap to 16-14 on a Kerry Tuorto goal with 7:02 to play.
A big draw control from Colleen Kelly led to Caroline Miller's second goal of the day from the 8-meter line, giving Bucknell a 17-14 lead with 6:03 to go. Clare Culligan completed her hat trick with 1:07 to play to make it a 17-15 game. After a Bucknell timeout, Payer cleanly nabbed the draw control, and the Bison played possessed the ball for the final minute.
It was a 2-2 game less than five minutes in before the Bison made the game's first big run. Taylor Kopan gave the Bison the lead for good and then Krestinski fed Sheridan to make it 4-2. After Sara Rogers answered for the Leopards, Baird scored twice in a span of 21 seconds. A Symone Ryans save led to a pretty transition goal, with Krestinski finding Taylor McClain on the left side of the crease and then Boyce converted a free-position shot to make it 8-3 after one period.
Up 11-6 late in the half, Baird picked off a pass near midfield and then ripped a shot off the post. Sheridan was first to the rebound and fired it home to give the Bison a six-goal lead at intermission.
Emily Baird has had a monster game so far. Here she picks off a pass and rips a shot off the post, and Caroline Sheridan is there for the rebound. #rayBucknell
— Bucknell Women's Lax (@Bucknell_WLAX) March 25, 2023
Watch: https://t.co/SfBqKmPWTj@ESPN | @PatriotLeagueTV pic.twitter.com/o4b7jwid9I
It was a foul-filled game on a wet day in Easton, and 14 of the game's 32 goals came on free-position shots, including eight by Bucknell on 14 attempts. The Bison finished with a 38-26 shot advantage and a 21-15 edge in ground balls and a 20-16 lead in draw controls.
Lafayette goalie Lexie Coldiron had a huge day with 15 saves, eight coming in the second quarter to keep her team in the game. Ryans tallied eight saves for Bucknell.
Payer and Baird were all over the field for the Bison. Baird finished with three goals, an assist, seven draw controls, and three ground balls. In addition to her game-high nine draw controls, Payer added five ground balls and four caused turnovers.
Payer now has a Bucknell-record 172 career draw controls. She was one shy of the mark entering the day, and she tied and broke the record early in the contest. The previous school record was 164, set by Bonnie Buechel during her outstanding career from 2006-09.
Bucknell returns to action on Wednesday at Colgate before hosting Lehigh on Saturday.
Congrats to Ella Payer, who became Bucknell's all-time leader in draw controls today at Lafayette! She had nine today in a Bison victory and now has 172 in her career. The previous record was 164, held by Bonnie Buechel '09. #rayBucknell pic.twitter.com/k8XBqOVPHO
— Bucknell Women's Lax (@Bucknell_WLAX) March 25, 2023
Team Stats
BUCKNELL
LAFW
Shots
38
26
Turnovers
12
15
Caused Turnovers
10
4
Draw Controls
20
16
Free-Position Shots
14
7
Ground Balls
21
15
Game Leaders
Players
G
4
A
0
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
4
CT
3
G
3
A
1
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
3
CT
0
G
3
A
0
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
0
CT
0
G
2
A
0
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
0
CT
0
Players Mentioned
M
/ Women's LacrosseA
/ Women's Lacrosse
A
/ Women's Lacrosse
M
/ Women's LacrosseA
/ Women's Lacrosse
M
/ Women's Lacrosse
A
/ Women's Lacrosse
M
/ Women's Lacrosse
D
/ Women's Lacrosse
G
/ Women's LacrosseA
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