Saturday, October 5
Lewisburg, Pa.
1 p.m.
Bucknell University
vs
Holy Cross
Photo by: Lianne Garrahan
Women's Soccer Welcomes Holy Cross on Senior Day Saturday at Emmitt Field
10/2/2024 7:38:00 PM | Women's Soccer
Holy Cross (5-6-1, 2-0-1 PL) at Bucknell (6-3-2, 2-1 PL)
When: Saturday, Oct. 5, 1 p.m.
Where: Emmitt Field at Holmes Stadium, Lewisburg, Pa.
Streaming: ESPN+
Live Stats: BucknellBison.com
Happenings: Senior Day
Bucknell at a Glance
When: Saturday, Oct. 5, 1 p.m.
Where: Emmitt Field at Holmes Stadium, Lewisburg, Pa.
Streaming: ESPN+
Live Stats: BucknellBison.com
Happenings: Senior Day
Bucknell at a Glance
- The Bison look to bounce back from last Saturday's rare home loss when Patriot League co-leader Holy Cross comes to Emmitt Field on Saturday. This is the last weekend home game of the regular season, so the Bison will honor their nine seniors and their families before the game.
- Holy Cross is 2-0-1 in Patriot League play with wins over Lafayette and Army and a draw with American, and the Crusaders join Boston University at the top of the table with seven points. Bucknell, Army, and Navy are all one point back with 2-1 records.
- The Bison started league play with wins over Colgate and American before falling 1-0 at home to Army last week. Bucknell had been unbeaten in 17 straight home games (11-0-6) against Patriot League opponents dating back to a 1-0 loss to Navy in the COVID-modified 2021 spring season.
- Last Wednesday, Bucknell came from behind to defeat American 3-1 at the Maryland SoccerPlex. After the Eagles scored 2:20 into the match, Reese Evans tied it in the 12th minute, Kelley Francis put the Bison ahead in the 77th, and Katie Connell added an insurance goal in the 82nd.
- Teresa Deda assisted on all three goals, giving her 35 career assists. That tied the Bucknell record, originally set by Hall-of-Famer Lisa Gibbons from 1991-94.
- Deda is tied for the Patriot League lead with six assists this season. She is third in the league in goals with six and second in points with 18.
- Deda now ranks eighth in Bucknell history with 73 career points (19G, 35A). Deda was the Patriot League Preseason Midfielder of the Year, and she was also one of 44 players named to the 2024 Hermann Trophy Watch List. The Hermann Trophy is given to the national player of the year. Schiano was picked as the Patriot League Preseason Defensive Player of the Year.
- Deda ranks fifth among all active Division I players in career assists. The only players with more are Texas' Lexi Missimo (57) and Trinity Byars (36), Pitt's Sarah Schupansky (41), and Auburn's Anna Haddock (40). Missimo and Haddock are both in their fifth years.
- After conceding eight goals in back-to-back losses to No. 7 Pittsburgh (5-1) and Monmouth (3-0), the Bison followed with four straight shutouts with wins over Saint Joseph's (2-0), Villanova (1-0), and Colgate (3-0) along with a 0-0 draw with FDU. Bucknell's scoreless streak of 396 straight minutes ended early in the American game last Wednesday.
- Goalkeeper Jess Benattar leads the Patriot League in goals-against average (0.58) and ranks third in save percentage (.826). In her nine appearances this season she has 19 saves while conceding only four goals.
- Benattar missed the Army game due to injury, and Dylan Zednik had a strong game in her absence with four saves.
- In front of Benattar, the Bison have started the same back four in every game this season. Veteran standouts Katie Schiano, the Preseason PL Defensive Player of the Year, and Meghan White have been terrific on the flanks, and center backs Laura Schmidt and Julia Palitti have both been outstanding in their first season as starters.
- The Bison have scored 13 goals in 10 games thus far. Deda leads the way with six goals and six assists, and two-time Patriot League Rookie of the Week Katie Connell has four goals. Henna Andican, who is out with an injury, and Evans have two goals each, and Francis and Presley Sutter have one apiece. Sutter, a freshman, scored her first career goal to open the scoring late in the first half against Colgate.
- Bucknell has captured three straight Patriot League championships, which is a rarity in the league's history. Before Bucknell, the most recent to do it was Boston University, which won titles in its first three seasons as a league member in 2013-15. Prior to that, it was Colgate winning six in a row from 1994-99 and three straight from 1990-92 during the league's infancy.
- The Bison are one of only seven Division I teams that have won at least their last three league titles. The other six are Memphis (AAC), Florida State (ACC), Saint Louis (A10), Georgetown (Big East), UC Irvine (Big West), and Milwaukee (Horizon).
- Bucknell was picked a close second behind Army West Point in the preseason poll, with third-place Boston University also just a few points back. While Army was the top seed in each of the last two Patriot League Tournaments, the Bison prevailed in penalty-kick shootouts at West Point in the finals both times. Bucknell also won the 2021 championship on the road, clipping Boston University 1-0.
- Bucknell finished 12-4-5 overall and 5-1-3 in the Patriot League last season. Seeded No. 2 in the Patriot League Tournament, the Bison defeated Boston University 3-1 in the semifinals and then outlasted Army in a penalty-kick shootout to claim the title.
- Bucknell faced a Big Ten opponent in the NCAA Tournament for the third year in a row, falling to Iowa 2-0 in overtime. It was a similar script as 2022 when the Bison and Ohio State played 90 scoreless minutes before the Buckeyes found the net late in overtime. This time it was the Hawkeyes scoring twice in the extra periods to swipe the first-round verdict.
- Head coach Kelly Cook is in her 10th season at Bucknell, and she has led the Bison to five league titles in her first nine years. Cook owns a career record of 89-61-26 (.580) and a Patriot League mark of 47-19-14 (.675). She has the highest winning percentage of any coach in program history, and she needs five more wins to equal Ben Landis for the most in team history.
- 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.
- The Crusaders have played good soccer in recent weeks and come into Saturday's game tied for the Patriot League lead with Boston University.
- Defense has been the key to Holy Cross' success. After conceding seven goals during an 0-3 start to the season, the Crusaders have allowed only four goals in their last nine games and are 5-3-1 in that stretch.
- Holy Cross has generated 11 goals in 12 games, led by two each from Ava Graham, Charlotte Hanchar, and Olivia Perez.
- Graham, a freshman, scored a 64th-minute equalizer in Saturday's 1-1 draw with American. Perez had the lone goal in the 56th minute off an assist from Graham in last week's 1-0 win at Army.
- Senior goalkeeper Julia Walsh has started nine games, including all three Patriot League encounters. She has 39 saves with only seven goals against, and she leads the league with an .848 save percentage. Walsh's 0.74 GAA is second in the league, behind Bucknell's Jess Benattar.
- Holy Cross finished 5-7-5 overall and 2-4-3 in the Patriot League last season.
- Bucknell is 24-6-3 all-time against Holy Cross, including a 16-1-1 record in the last 18 meetings.
- The Bison own a 12-3-2 record in Worcester and 12-2-1 in Lewisburg.
- The Bison have won the last eight meetings at Emmitt Field, with Holy Cross's last win here coming in 2004 (3-0).
- The two teams have met just once in the postseason, a 1-0 Holy Cross win in the 2000 Patriot League semifinals in Hamilton, N.Y.
- In the last clash at Emmitt Field in 2022, Bucknell broke open a 1-1 tie with four goals in a span of 10 minutes on the way to a 5-1 win. Abby Gearhart scored two goals, including the go-ahead marker from long range in the 66th minute. Henna Andican, Teresa Deda, and Hannah Stuck also scored, and Andican added two assists.
- Last year the two teams played to a scoreless draw in Worcester, although there was plenty of action with Holy Cross finishing with a 16-15 edge in shots. Jenna Hall finished with six saves in goal for the Bison, and she broke up a set piece in the final 15 seconds. The Bison played without Deda, who had received a red card in the previous game at Army.
- Following the Holy Cross game, the Bison will next head to Annapolis to take on Navy on Friday, Oct. 11 at 7 p.m.
Players Mentioned
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