Saturday, October 26
Easton, Pa.
6 p.m.
Bucknell University
at
Lafayette
Photo by: Lianne Garrahan
Women's Soccer Visits Lafayette Saturday in Penultimate Game of Regular Season
10/23/2024 5:30:00 PM | Women's Soccer
Bucknell (9-4-2, 5-2 PL) at Lafayette (5-5-3, 2-2-3 PL)
When:Â Saturday, Oct. 26, 6 p.m.
Where:Â Mike Bourger Field at Oaks Stadium, Easton, Pa.
Streaming:Â ESPN+
Live Stats:Â GoLeopards.com
Bucknell at a Glance
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When:Â Saturday, Oct. 26, 6 p.m.
Where:Â Mike Bourger Field at Oaks Stadium, Easton, Pa.
Streaming:Â ESPN+
Live Stats:Â GoLeopards.com
Bucknell at a Glance
- The Bison look to rebound from Sunday's 1-0 loss at Boston University when they head back on the road this Saturday to face Lafayette.
- Only two games remain in the regular-season, and Saturday's game will have significant Patriot League Tournament implications for both sides. The Bison have clinched a tourney bid, but now they have their sights set on the regular-season title. Bucknell (5-2) and Boston University (4-0-3) are tied for first place on 15 points, with the Terriers now holding the head-to-head tiebreaker. Army (4-2-1) is third with 13 points, followed by Colgate (3-2-2, 11), Lafayette (2-2-3, 9), and Loyola (2-2-3, 9). The Leopards will be pushing to move into the No. 4 spot to host a quarterfinal game, but they also need to avoid being caught from behind with Holy Cross, Navy, and American all lurking on seven points.
- Bucknell split two matches last week, downing Loyola 1-0 at home before falling in Boston on Sunday. The win over the Greyhounds was the team's third straight 1-0 victory, and it came via a Teresa Deda goal late in the first half.
- Deda has a team-high eight goals this season, third-most in the Patriot League behind Colgate's Ari Bezanson (14) and Loyola's Baylee DeSmit (13). Deda also has six assists to give her 22 points. Bezanson and DeSmit both have 29.
- Bucknell now has eight team shutouts this season, and junior goalkeeper Jess Benattar has six solo clean sheets. Benattar has played in 13 games this season, and she leads the Patriot League and ranks ninth nationally in GAA at 0.46. Her .868 save percentage (33 saves, 5 GA) is also the best in the league, and that figure ranks eighth nationally.
- Bucknell has been stout defensively even with the introduction of a new starting goalkeeper (Benattar) and two first-time starters at center back (senior Laura Schmidt and sophomore Julia Palitti). The Bison have used the same back four in every game this season, with outside backs Katie Schiano and Meghan White flanking Schmidt and Palitti. Schiano was the PL Preseason Defensive Player of the Year.
- The Bison have paid close mind on the league's top offensive players this season. Bucknell has already faced nine league opponents who have scored five or more goals this season, and none have scored against the Bison. In fact, those nine players combined for only 10 shots. Four of the nine didn't get a single shot, including league-leader Bezanson.
- The Bison have scored nine goals and conceded only three in Patriot League play.
- Deda assisted on all three goals in Bucknell's 3-1 win at American, giving her 35 career assists. That tied the Bucknell record, originally set by Hall-of-Famer Lisa Gibbons from 1991-94.
- Deda is tied with three others for the Patriot League lead with six assists this season.
- Deda now ranks seventh in Bucknell history with 77 career points (21G, 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.
- Deda ranks fifth among all active Division I players in career assists. The only players with more are Texas' Lexi Missimo (60) and Trinity Byars (36), Pitt's Sarah Schupansky (43), and Auburn's Anna Haddock (42). Missimo and Haddock are both in their fifth years.
- The Bison have scored 19 goals in 15 games thus far. Deda leads the way with eight 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 Reese Evans have two goals each, and Sydney Hess, Kelley Francis, and Presley Sutter have one apiece.
- Bucknell has been shown only four yellow cards all season, with two of them coming at FDU on Sept. 15. The four yellows trail only Northern Arizona and Fairfield (three each) for the fewest in the nation.
- 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 92-63-26 (.580) and a Patriot League mark of 50-20-14 (.679). She has the highest winning percentage of any coach in program history, and she needs two 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.     Â
- The Leopards are currently sitting in the No. 5 seed, and they finish the regular season with home games against Bucknell and Navy.
- Lafayette has Patriot League wins over Lehigh (2-0) and American (3-0), draws with Loyola (0-0), Boston University (1-1), and Army (0-0), and losses to Holy Cross (1-0) and Colgate (2-1).
- Most recently, the Leopards lost a tough one on the road to Colgate, with Patriot League scoring leader Ari Bezanson finishing off a brace in the 81st minute for the Raiders. That goal came just two minutes after Nadia Zagganella had equalized for Lafayette.
- Katrina Santelli, whose older sister Mary formerly played at Bucknell, leads the Leopards with four goals. Three of those have come in league play against Lehigh, American, and Boston University.
- Zaffanella, the 2023 Patriot League Rookie of the year is next with three goals, followed by Alexa Jindal and Sofia Ruggiero with two each.
- Sophomore Catherine Apker is in her first year as Lafayette's starting goalkeeper, and she is having a strong season. Apker ranks third in the league in GAA (0.96) and second to Bucknell's Jess Benattar in save percentage (.855). Her seven shutouts are the most in the conference.
- Lafayette has conceded only 14 goals in 13 games, and its team GAA of 1.08 is fourth-best in the league.Â
- Bucknell holds a 25-7-3 record in a series that dates back to 1990.
- The Bison have had the better of the recent series, going 18-1-2 in the last 21 meetings. That run includes an 11-match winning streak from 2004-14.
- Bucknell is 4-0-1 in the last five meetings with the draw coming in the COVID-modified spring 2021 season.
- The Bison enter Saturday's game with a 391:58 scoreless streak against Lafayette. The Leopards' last goal against Bucknell came from Riley Dowd in the 79th minute in Bucknell's 2-1 win in Easton in 2019.
- Bucknell was a 2-0 winner at home last season. Paige Temple and Teresa Deda scored the goals in the second half, and Jenna Hall made five saves en route to her 25th career shutout.
- Bucknell won the most recent matchup in Easton by a 2-0 scoreline, with both goals coming from then-seniors in 2022. Abby Gearhart scored the opening goal in the ninth minute, and Rylee Donaldson finished a breakaway with just two seconds remaining in the match. Deda assisted on both goals, and Donaldson also added an assist on the Gearhart goal. The Bison outshot the Leopards 14-4 on the night.
- Even though these two teams have squared off in every one of Bucknell's 34 varsity seasons, they have met just once in the postseason. That was a 2-0 Bison win at Emmitt Field in the 2016 Patriot League Tournament semifinals. The Bison would go on to defeat Boston University two days later to claim the championship. Â Â Â
- Bucknell wraps up the regular season at home on Wednesday, Oct. 30 against Lehigh at 7 p.m.
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