Bucknell University Athletics
Wednesday, March 27
Bethlehem, Pa.
6 p.m.
Bucknell University
at
Lehigh
Photo by: Lianne Garrahan
Women's Lacrosse Takes on Lehigh Wednesday in Bethlehem
3/26/2024 6:34:00 PM | Women's Lacrosse
Bucknell (3-5, 1-1 PL) at Lehigh (5-3, 1-1 PL)
When:Â Wednesday, Mar. 27, 6 p.m.Â
Where:Â Ulrich Sports Complex, Bethlehem, Pa.
Streaming:Â ESPN+
Live Stats:Â LehighSports.com
Follow on Twitter:Â @Bucknell_WLAX
Bucknell at a Glance
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When:Â Wednesday, Mar. 27, 6 p.m.Â
Where:Â Ulrich Sports Complex, Bethlehem, Pa.
Streaming:Â ESPN+
Live Stats:Â LehighSports.com
Follow on Twitter:Â @Bucknell_WLAX
Bucknell at a Glance
- The Bison continue a challenging road stretch this week with games at Lehigh and No. 17 Navy.
- Bucknell is 1-1 in Patriot League play, with a come-from-behind 16-13 home win over Boston University followed by an 18-10 road loss to red-hot Holy Cross. The Crusaders captured their seventh straight win on Saturday and are one of two teams still unbeaten in Patriot League play. No. 7 Loyola is 4-0, Holy Cross is 3-0, Navy is 2-1, and then Bucknell, Lehigh, and Army West Point are all 1-1.
- Saturday's game in Worcester quickly got away from the Bison. Holy Cross led 9-1 after the first quarter and 15-3 at the half. Bucknell outscored the Crusaders 6-1 in the fourth, but the deficit was just too big by that point.
- Megan Krestinski, Braeden Siverson, and Taylor Kopan all scored two goals apiece, and Siverson had eight draw controls to lead the Bison.
- Bucknell's 16-13 win over Boston University snapped a nine-game series losing streak to the Terriers. The Bison had been 0-9 since Boston University joined the Patriot League in 2014, with their lone series win coming in 1996. Bucknell trailed 5-1 early and 10-6 at the half before outscoring the Terriers 10-3 in the second half. Down 12-10 with six minutes left in the third quarter, the Bison tallied six of the game's final seven goals.
- Taylor McClain finished with three goals and three assists for a season-high six points against Boston University, and she was selected as the Patriot League Attacker of the Week for the first time in her career. McClain helped ignite Bucknell's second-half charge with a goal and two assists in a four-goal run that tied the game at 10-10.
- Allie Boyce (19-4-23) leads the team in goals and points. After leading the nation in shot percentage last season, she is currently No. 1 again this season at .704. Boyce is also hitting a .727 clip on free-position attempts, which leads the Patriot League and ranks 13th nationally.
- Boyce scored her 100th career goal three games ago in a win at Kent State, and she currently ranks 10th in team history with 105 career goals.
- Krestinski (12-5-17), Emily Baird (10-4-14), Kopan (10-3-13), Alex Nesbitt (8-5-13), McClain (4-9-13), and Siverson (9-1-10) have all reached double figures in the points column.
- Siverson leads the squad with 41 draw controls, followed by Eliza Thir with 21 and Tatumn Kohlbrenner with 18. Bucknell has won 48.8% of its draws on the season.
- As a team, Bucknell ranks second in the Patriot League in caused turnovers per game with 8.50, and the Bison are also second in the league in fewest turnovers per game with 13.0. After going 36-for-36 on clears in consecutive wins over Kent State and Boston University, they went 9-for-13 last time out against Holy Cross. Â
- 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 ranked in the IWLCA national poll at times this season.
- 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. Â
- 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. Â
- Lehigh comes in with a 5-3 overall record and a 1-1 mark in the Patriot League. The Mountain Hawks opened league play with an 11-9 win over American on March 9, and since then they have played three strong games at home against top-notch competition. They fell 9-7 to Penn State, defeated Georgetown 14-10, and then fell 11-5 to Loyola in a game that they led 2-0 after the first quarter.
- Wednesday's game will be Lehigh's seventh straight home contest. The Mountain Hawks are 4-3 at the Ulrich Sports Complex this season and 1-0 in their lone road fixture.
- The bulk of Lehigh's offensive production comes from the veteran attack trio of senior Olivia Memeger (19-10-29), grad student Gabby Schneider (17-12-29), and grad student Emma Eberhardt (19-5-24).
- Grad student Cassie Marte leads the squad with 59 draw controls.
- Lehigh features one of the league's top goalies in senior Hayley Hunt. Hunt leads the Patriot League in save percentage (.520) and ranks third in goals-against average (9.56).
- Lehigh leads the all-time series 35-11 dating back to 1978. The Mountain Hawks won the first 19 meetings before the Bison ran off eight in a row. Lehigh now has another big streak going with 14 straight wins. Â
- Bucknell's last victory over the Mountain Hawks was a 12-11 overtime verdict in Bethlehem in 2009.
- Lehigh led wire-to-wire in a 17-13 win last season in Lewisburg. Emily Baird led the Bison with four goals, while Memeger and Katia Carnevale tallied for each for the Mountain Hawks. Carnevale is now the leading scorer for No. 8 Virginia with 34 goals.Â
- Bucknell heads to Annapolis on Saturday to take on the Mids at 3 p.m. The game will air live on ESPN+.
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