Women's Lax Hosts Lafayette, Army in Busy Week

Lafayette (4-9, 1-5 PL) at Bucknell (4-8, 2-4 PL)
When: Wednesday, Apr. 17, 7 p.m.
Where: Graham Field at Holmes Stadium, Lewisburg, Pa.
Streaming: ESPN+
Live Stats: BucknellBison.com
Follow on Twitter: @Bucknell_WLAX
Happenings: Morgan's Message Night

Army West Point (6-7, 4-2 PL) at Bucknell (4-8, 2-4 PL)
When: Saturday, Apr. 20, 1 p.m.
Where: Graham Field at Holmes Stadium, Lewisburg, Pa.
Streaming: ESPN+
Live Stats: BucknellBison.com
Follow on Twitter: @Bucknell_WLAX
Happenings: Senior Day

Bucknell at a Glance

We're down to three games remaining in the regular season, and the Bison will be looking to make a postseason push when Lafayette and Army visit Graham Field this week.
On Wednesday, the Bison women's lacrosse program will celebrate Morgan's Message, an organization that aims to end the stigma surrounding mental health within athletics and equalize access to both mental and physical health treatment. Morgan's Message is dedicated to the life and legacy of Morgan Rodgers, a former Duke lacrosse student-athlete who died tragically in July 2019 after battling mental health struggles.
Prior to Saturday's game, the Bison will honor their 10 seniors: Emily Baird, Tatumn Kohlbrenner, Jamie Fedorjaka, Madison Parke, Taylor Kopan, Phoebe Macleod, Colleen Kelly, Taylor LaMantia, Morgan Joseph, and Sam Lehaney.
Bucknell couldn't sustain a hot start and fell 12-9 at American on Saturday. The Bison led 8-5 at the half but then was outscored 6-0 in the third quarter.
Despite the loss, the Bison remain in playoff position in a tie for sixth place with Colgate, whom they defeated earlier in the season. American is just a half-game back at 2-5. As for this week's opponents, Lafayette comes in in ninth place at 1-5, and Army is fourth at 4-2 heading into a Wednesday-night home game against 5-1 Holy Cross.
Kopan recorded three goals and Megan Krestinski tallied a goal and four assists at American. Both players have been hot of late. Kopan scored five goals in her previous outing against Colgate on the way to Patriot League Attacker of the Week honors, and she has a goal in all but one game this season and has multiple goals in five straight. In her last two games after returning from injury, Krestinski has five goals and seven assists for 12 points.
Kopan (20-4-24) has recorded her third straight 20-goal season and is two shy of her career high.
Allie Boyce (23-7-30) continues to lead the team in scoring. Krestinski (17-12-29) and Taylor McClain (7-14-21) have also reached the 20-point mark on the campaign.
McClain leads the team in assists, and with 59 career assists she is now alone in fourth place on Bucknell's all-time list. She needs 13 more to catch Melissa Montefusco for third.
Braeden Siverson has been Bucknell's primary draw specialist this season, and she leads the team with 52 draw controls.
Colleen Kazanjian has started 10 of the 12 games in goal and has a .356 save percentage and 14.47 goals-against average.
As a team, Bucknell ranks fifth in the Patriot League in scoring with 11.42 goals per game. Lafayette is 10th at 7.77 and Army is fourth at 13.54.
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.

Lafayette at a Glance/Series History

The Leopards are 4-9 overall and 1-5 in the Patriot League. The won a 10-9 overtime thriller at Boston University on March 30, but since then have fallen to Loyola (17-3) and Colgate (9-8). Saturday's game in Hamilton was a heartbreaker, as Lauren Thompson's goal with nine seconds remaining gave the Raiders the win.
Senior Abby Romano recorded three goals and three assists in the Boston University win, and she leads the team with 20 goals and 29 points. Sara Rogers has 16 goals and a team-high 10 assists.
Lafayette has one of the league's top goalies in Lexie Coldiron, who ranks second in the PL in save percentage (.485) and saves per game (9.85).
The Leopards lead the all-time series 34-10, but the Bison have won four straight. Bucknell averaged 16.0 goals per game in those four recent wins.
In last year's game in Easton, Bucknell ran out to a 12-6 halftime lead but had to hold on at the end for a 17-15 win. Allie Boyce scored four goals and Emily Baird and Caroline Sheridan had three each to lead the Bison. Rogers and Claire Culligan scored three goals each and Coldiron had 15 saves for Lafayette.
In the last meeting at Graham Field in 2022, Boyce scored five goals and Taylor Kopan had three in a 16-9 win. It was another big first half, as Bucknell led 13-4 at intermission.

Army West Point at a Glance/Series History

The Black Knights began the 2024 season ranked in the top-25 but started the campaign with losses to USC, Syracuse, Siena, and Rutgers. They are 6-3 since then, with one of the losses a narrow 14-13 decision against No. 7 Loyola.
Army won four straight Patriot League games by double-digit margins before falling 17-11 at Navy on Saturday.
The Black Knights feature one of the league's top players in sophomore middie Brigid Duffy (50-24-74), who is also a standout soccer player. The reigning Patriot League Rookie of the Year leads the Patriot League with an average of 5.69 points per game, and she also ranks first in caused turnovers (22), third in goals, fourth in draw controls (81), and fifth in assists.
Other top point-producers include Allison Reilly (39-30-69), Julia Gorajek (26-10-36), and Lily Valentini (16-7-23).
Duffy ranks fourth nationally in points per game, while Reilly ranks ninth.
Army has used five different goalies this season, with Lindsey Serafine (.427, 11.28 GAA) seeing the most action.
Bucknell is 3-4 all-time against Army, with the wins coming in 2016, 2017, and 2022. The 18-12 victory at Graham Field in 2022 was one of Bucknell's better results in recent years. The Black Knights were 5-0 in the Patriot League and 10-3 overall at the time of that game, but the Bison used an 8-1 second-half run to pull away. Allie Boyce and Tatumn Kohlbrenner scored four goals each, and Taylor Kopan added a hat trick for the Bison. Gorajek had four goals and three assists for Army.
The Black Knights got some revenge last season, pulling away late for a 15-7 win despite four goals from Boyce. Kopan's goal with 10:56 left in the third quarter pulled the Bison within 8-7, but 14th-ranked Army scored the game's final seven goals to improve to 12-1 on the season.

Next Up

The Bison conclude the regular season next Thursday at Loyola.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Emily Baird

Allie Boyce

Jamie Fedorjaka

Morgan Joseph

Colleen Kazanjian

Colleen Kelly

Tatumn Kohlbrenner

Taylor Kopan

Megan Krestinski

Taylor LaMantia

Sam Lehaney

Phoebe Macleod

Taylor McClain

Madison Parke

Caroline Sheridan

Braeden Siverson