Tuesday, February 18
Lewisburg, Pa.
3 p.m.
Bucknell University
1-1
9
vs
8
Rider
1-2
1
2
3
4
F
Rider
4
2
1
1
8
Bucknell
4
2
2
1
9
Photo by: Lianne Garrahan
Women’s Lacrosse Nets First Win of 2025, 9-8 over Rider
2/18/2025 6:46:00 PM | Women's Lacrosse
LEWISBURG, Pa. – Alex Nesbitt scored the tiebreaking goal with 3:31 remaining and then ended the game with a ground ball in the defensive end, lifting the Bucknell women's lacrosse team to a 9-8 win over Rider on a frigid Tuesday afternoon at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium. Nesbitt's game-winner was courtesy of Taylor McClain's fifth assist of the day, and Allie Boyce scored three goals to help the Bison improve to 1-1 on the season.
Bucknell had to dig out from an early 3-0 hole, as Rider (1-2) won the game's first three draw controls and cashed in each time. Back-to-back tallies from Megan Krestinski and Alex Macutek got the Bison back in it, and then two straight McClain-to-Boyce hookups just 29 seconds apart knotted the game at 4-4 late in the first quarter.
Neither team led by more than one goal the rest of the way, as the contest was tied at 4-4, 5-5, 6-6, 7-7, and 8-8. Ava Harris and Kat Reynolds both notched their first career goals. Reynolds' tally off a feed from Aliza Thir gave the Bison an 8-7 lead with 7:33 left in the third quarter, and there wouldn't be another goal for more than 17 minutes as both defenses and goalies were sharp.
Elizabeth Shean ended the offensive dry spell with her third goal of the day, tying the game at 8-8 with 5:22 left. The Broncs won the ensuing draw – they were 15-for-21 on the day – but after an errant pass Kiera McClanahan grabbed her game-high fifth ground ball of the day. At the other end, Nesbitt took a pass from McClain at goal-line extended on the left side and then fired a low-to-low bullet past Avery May for the go-ahead score.
In the closing minutes Jess Leon and Megan Krestinski both forced turnovers, but Rider had one last possession after calling timeout with 15 seconds to play. Madison Rothwein tried to feed the ball from the right wing to a cutter, but Thir broke up the pass and Nesbitt pounced on the ground ball and ran out the clock.
It was fitting that the Bison ended the game with a defensive stop, as that unit was stellar all day against a Rider team that had scored 30 goals in its first two games of the season.
Bucknell logged 18 caused turnovers, including five from Leon. The Broncs were just 15-for-21 on clears, and the Bison had a 22-16 edge in ground balls. Colleen Kazanjian made seven saves in goal for Bucknell, while Jamie Kubach (5) and May (4) combined for nine stops for Rider.
McClain's five assists were one shy of her career high. She had six in a game against Robert Morris in 2023 and now has 66 in her career, fourth-most in team history.
This was the first of three straight home games for Bucknell. Villanova is next on Saturday at 1 p.m. at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium.
Bucknell had to dig out from an early 3-0 hole, as Rider (1-2) won the game's first three draw controls and cashed in each time. Back-to-back tallies from Megan Krestinski and Alex Macutek got the Bison back in it, and then two straight McClain-to-Boyce hookups just 29 seconds apart knotted the game at 4-4 late in the first quarter.
Neither team led by more than one goal the rest of the way, as the contest was tied at 4-4, 5-5, 6-6, 7-7, and 8-8. Ava Harris and Kat Reynolds both notched their first career goals. Reynolds' tally off a feed from Aliza Thir gave the Bison an 8-7 lead with 7:33 left in the third quarter, and there wouldn't be another goal for more than 17 minutes as both defenses and goalies were sharp.
Elizabeth Shean ended the offensive dry spell with her third goal of the day, tying the game at 8-8 with 5:22 left. The Broncs won the ensuing draw – they were 15-for-21 on the day – but after an errant pass Kiera McClanahan grabbed her game-high fifth ground ball of the day. At the other end, Nesbitt took a pass from McClain at goal-line extended on the left side and then fired a low-to-low bullet past Avery May for the go-ahead score.
Alex Nesbitt's GWG was a thing of beauty! #rayBucknell #PLTop3@ESPN | @PatriotLeagueHQ pic.twitter.com/ABGsfRjNcv
— Bucknell Women's Lax (@Bucknell_WLAX) February 18, 2025
In the closing minutes Jess Leon and Megan Krestinski both forced turnovers, but Rider had one last possession after calling timeout with 15 seconds to play. Madison Rothwein tried to feed the ball from the right wing to a cutter, but Thir broke up the pass and Nesbitt pounced on the ground ball and ran out the clock.
It was fitting that the Bison ended the game with a defensive stop, as that unit was stellar all day against a Rider team that had scored 30 goals in its first two games of the season.
Bucknell logged 18 caused turnovers, including five from Leon. The Broncs were just 15-for-21 on clears, and the Bison had a 22-16 edge in ground balls. Colleen Kazanjian made seven saves in goal for Bucknell, while Jamie Kubach (5) and May (4) combined for nine stops for Rider.
McClain's five assists were one shy of her career high. She had six in a game against Robert Morris in 2023 and now has 66 in her career, fourth-most in team history.
This was the first of three straight home games for Bucknell. Villanova is next on Saturday at 1 p.m. at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium.
Team Stats
RIDER
BUCKNELL
Shots
19
23
Turnovers
26
19
Caused Turnovers
8
18
Draw Controls
15
6
Free-Position Shots
4
3
Ground Balls
16
22
Game Leaders
Players
G
3
A
0
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
1
CT
1
G
2
A
0
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
2
CT
3
G
1
A
0
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
0
CT
1
G
1
A
0
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
1
CT
0
Players Mentioned
A
/ Women's LacrosseA
/ Women's Lacrosse
G
/ Women's LacrosseM
/ Women's Lacrosse
M
/ Women's Lacrosse
A
/ Women's Lacrosse
D
/ Women's Lacrosse
A
/ Women's Lacrosse
A
/ Women's Lacrosse
M
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