Women's Lacrosse Visits Villanova Saturday

Saturday, February 17

Villanova, Pa.

12 p.m.

Bucknell University

Villanova

Photo by: Ben Popko

2/15/2024 4:51:00 PM | Women's Lacrosse

Bucknell (0-1) at Villanova (0-1)
When: Saturday, Feb. 15, 12 p.m.
Where: Villanova Stadium, Villanova, Pa.
Live Stats: Villanova.com
Follow on Twitter: @Bucknell_WLAX

Bucknell at a Glance

The Bison women's lacrosse squad continues its challenging opening week with a trip to Villanova on Saturday. After dropping their season opener at No. 17 Penn State on Tuesday, the Bison now visit one of the top teams in the Big East. The Wildcats are coming off a school-record 11-win season, and they lost a narrow 12-11 decision to No. 15 USC in their 2024 season opener.
The Bucknell-Penn State was originally slated to be played in Lewisburg, but it was moved to Penn State's indoor facility due to the overnight storm that blanketed Graham Field with snow.
Junior Allie Boyce, a Preseason All-Patriot League selection who is coming off a 50-goal season in 2023, got the Bison off to a good start with a goal just 49 seconds into the game. But the Nittany Lions scored the next six goals in a row, propelling them to a 22-8 victory.
The eight goals were Bucknell's second-most in the 18-game all-time series with Penn State. The Bison scored nine in 2014.
Boyce, who led the nation in shot accuracy last season, went 3-for-3 in the Penn State game. She eclipsed the 100-point mark for her career and now has 89 goals. Only nine Bucknell players have ever recorded 100 career goals.
The Bison also received two goals from Caroline Sheridan, a goal and an assist apiece from Taylor Kopan and Alex Nesbitt, and a goal from Emily Baird.
Goalies Collen Kazanjian and Julia Dembowitz made four saves each.
Two Bison made their first career starts on Tuesday. Senior Jamie Fedorjaka has moved from attack to defense this season and was in the starting 12 against Penn State. Freshman middie Braeden Siverson also started on the draw. She had two draw controls in the game, while Fedorjaka had one.
Bucknell is looking to improve on last year's 6-10 record. The Bison were picked ninth in the Patriot League preseason poll. The league is loaded with talent this year, with three teams currently ranked in the IWLCA national poll.
The Bison returned 195 of their 209 goals (93.3%) from last season. The 209 goals were the team's most since 2016. Boyce led the way with 50, while Kopan, Baird, and Megan Krestinski all tallied 22. Taylor McClain recorded 13 goals and a team-high 33 assists.
Bucknell's biggest graduation loss was First Team All-Patriot League defender Ella Payer, who departed as the program's all-time leader in draw controls.
Head coach Jackie Dando is in her fifth season as Bucknell's head coach. Lisa Oakley is back for her second season working with the defenders and draw specialists, while Jordan Baerga is in her first year working with the attack unit.

Villanova at a Glance/Series History

Villanova will be playing its second straight home game to start the season after falling 12-11 to No. 15 USC on Sunday. The Wildcats trailed that game 10-4 after three quarters before making a furious comeback. They pulled within 12-11 with 1:16 to play and had a late possession to try to tie it up, but they turned the ball over.
Villanova last season finished 11-6, including a 3-0 mark against the Patriot League with wins over Navy, Lafayette, and Bucknell. The Wildcats were the No. 4 seed for the Big East Tournament and fell 12-7 to top-seeded Denver in the semifinals.
Villanova must replace two-time All-American Caroline Curnal, who scored 41 goals and ranked fifth in the nation in draw controls (9.1) last season. The Wildcats do bring back an All-Region performer in junior Sydney Pappas, who recorded 52 goals and 12 assists in 2023. Pappas scored five of the team's 11 goals against USC last time out.
Bucknell and Villanova played a tight game last season at Graham Field, with the Wildcats prevailing 12-10 behind five goals from Curnal, two goals and two assists from Pappas, and three goals and two assists from Sami Carey. Taylor McClain had a huge day for the Bison with three goals and four assists, and Allie Boyce logged a goal and three assists. Bucknell led 10-9 after three quarters, but the Wildcats outscored the Bison 3-0 in the fourth. Neither team led by more than two goals all day.
Villanova has a 15-6 lead in an all-time series that dates back to 1989. The Wildcats have won five of the last six in the series, with the lone Bucknell win in that span a 10-6 verdict in 2017.
Villanova was an associate member of the Patriot League in women's lacrosse from 2001-06. Bucknell won four of those six intraconference meetings.

Next Up

Following the Villanova game, Bucknell will play twice next week. The Bison visit St. Bonaventure on Wednesday before hosting Robert Morris on Saturday, Feb. 24 at 1 p.m.