Women's Lacrosse Visits St. Bonaventure, Hosts Robert Morris this Week

Bucknell (0-2) at St. Bonaventure (0-1)
When: Wednesday, Feb. 21, 3 p.m.
Where: Marra Athletics Field Complex, St. Bonaventure N.Y.
Live Stats: GoBonnies.com
Radio Broadcast: Bonnies Online Network
Follow on Twitter: @Bucknell_WLAX

Robert Morris (0-2) at Bucknell (0-2)
When: Saturday, Feb. 24, 1 p.m.
Where: Graham Field at Holmes Stadium, Lewisburg, Pa.
Live Stats: BucknellBison.com
Streaming: ESPN+
Follow on Twitter: @Bucknell_WLAX

Bucknell at a Glance

After dropping a 16-12 decision to a Villanova team that was receiving votes in the IWLCA Poll, the Bison are back in action with a pair of games this week. Bucknell visits St. Bonaventure on Wednesday afternoon before making its home debut against Robert Morris on Saturday.
Bucknell opened the campaign with a 22-8 loss to No. 17 Penn State loss. That game was originally slated to be played in Lewisburg, but it was moved to Penn State's indoor facility due to an overnight storm that blanketed Graham Field with snow.
Saturday's affair at Villanova was a game of runs. The Wildcats burst out to a 7-0 lead, but the Bison cut into the margin with a late furry in the second quarter, and they eventually pulled within one goal at 10-9 on Emily Baird's tally early in the fourth. But Villanova responded with six straight goals and went on to win 16-12.
Baird scored a career-high five goals for Bucknell, and Allie Boyce added two. Baird leads the team with six goals on the season, while Boyce, a Preseason All-Patriot League selection who is coming off a 50-goal season in 2023, recorded a hat trick against Penn State and has five goals through two games.
Boyce, who led the nation in shot accuracy last season, went 3-for-3 in the Penn State game. She has eclipsed the 100-point mark for her career and now has 91 goals. Only nine Bucknell players have ever recorded 100 career goals.
Caroline Sheridan (3-0-3), Taylor Kopan (2-1-3), Alex Nesbitt (2-1-3), Tatumn Kohlbrenner (1-1-2), and Megan Krestinski (1-0-1) also have points for the Bison this season.
Baird and Kohlbrenner share the team lead with four draw controls each, while Nesbitt leads the squad with three caused turnovers.
Colleen Kazanjian and Julia Dembowitz have seen time in goal in both games thus far. Kazanjian has totaled eight saves, while Dembowitz has seven.
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 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.

St. Bonaventure at a Glance/Series History

This will be game No. 2 for the Bonnies, who dropped their opener at Akron 15-12 last Wednesday. The Zips scored the game's first three goals and led by at least two the rest of the way.
Brooke Piper led the Bonnies with five goals and an assist. Piper and Bucknell's Alex Nesbitt were classmates at The Hill Academy in Ontario. Both are attackers who wear No. 45, which is a tribute to former Hill boys' lacrosse player Jamieson Kuhlmann, who died in a box lacrosse game in 2008. The number has been retired at the school, but numerous Hill alums in both men's and women's lacrosse have gone on to wear 45 in college.
Jessica Notaro scored two goals in the opener, and Fiona McGovern, Kassi Hogan, Tori Nascimento, Callie Kessler, and Grace Hollenbeck added one each. McGovern was a Preseason All-Atlantic 10 honoree after scoring 47 goals last season.
Bucknell is 4-6 all-time against the Bonnies but has won two straight, 10-8 in Olean in 2022 and 22-6 at Graham Field last season.
Allie Boyce scored seven goals and Taylor McClain dished out five assists in last year's one-sided win in Lewisburg. The 22 goals were the team's most in four seasons, and defensively the Bison held the Bonnies to only 14 shots and forced 16 turnovers. Bucknell doubled up St. Bonaventure 20-10 on the draw circle.
St. Bonaventure went on to finish 6-12 overall and 4-5 in the Atlantic 10 last season. The Bonnies qualified for the A-10 Tournament for the first time in 15 years, and head coach LeighAnn Stauffer was named A-10 Co-Coach of the Year.

Robert Morris at a Glance/Series History

Robert Morris has had a difficult start to the 2024 season. The Colonials have dropped their first two games 19-3 at Ohio State and 15-0 at home to Cincinnati, and now they are getting set to host No. 1 Boston College on Thursday before heading to Lewisburg.
Robert Morris went 10-9 overall and 7-1 in the Mid-American Conference last season. The Colonials hosted the MAC Tournament as the No. 1 seed but fell to third-seeded Central Michigan 15-12 in the championship game. RMU won the MAC title in its first year in the league in 2021, but they have fallen to the Chippewas in the final in each of the last two seasons.
RMU was picked to finish third under new head coach Courtney Grove in this year's MAC preseason poll.
Colleen Tifft has scored twice and Lilli Hadden once for the Colonials entering Thursday's game against BC. Tifft, a graduate student, is a three-time All-MAC honoree who recorded 40 goals and 11 assists last season.
The Bison are 6-5 all-time against Robert Morris, including one-sided wins in each of the last two seasons. Bucknell won 17-6 at Graham Field in 2022 and 15-8 in Moon Township last season. 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.
In last year's game at Robert Morris, Emily Baird scored four goals, then-freshman Caroline Sheridan recorded her first hat trick, and Taylor McClain handed out six assists in the 15-8 win. The Bison scored 10 straight goals on the way to an 11-1 halftime lead.

Next Up

After this week's bouts, Bucknell returns home to host Mount St. Mary's on Sunday, March 3 at 12 p.m.

Women's Lacrosse Visits St. Bonaventure, Hosts Robert Morris this Week

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Emily Baird

Allie Boyce

Julia Dembowitz

Colleen Kazanjian

Tatumn Kohlbrenner

Taylor Kopan

Megan Krestinski

Taylor McClain

Alex Nesbitt

Ella Payer

Caroline Sheridan

Women's Lacrosse Visits St. Bonaventure, Hosts Robert Morris this Week

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Emily Baird

Allie Boyce

Julia Dembowitz

Colleen Kazanjian

Tatumn Kohlbrenner

Taylor Kopan

Megan Krestinski

Taylor McClain

Alex Nesbitt

Ella Payer

Caroline Sheridan

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