Women's Lax Continues Homestand against Villanova Saturday, Kent State Tuesday

Villanova (2-2) at Bucknell (1-1)
When: Saturday, Feb. 22, 1 p.m.
Where: Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium, Lewisburg, Pa.
Watch: ESPN+
Live Stats: BucknellBison.com

Kent State (2-1) at Bucknell (1-1)
When: Tuesday, Feb. 25, 3 p.m.
Where: Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium, Lewisburg, Pa.
Watch: ESPN+
Live Stats: BucknellBison.com

Bucknell at a Glance

The Bison are looking to build on their first win of 2025 with two more home games coming up in quick succession. The Bison host Villanova on Saturday, followed by a date with Kent State on Tuesday.
After opening the season with a 16-4 loss at No. 22 Penn State, Bucknell pulled out a dramatic 9-8 win over Rider at home on Tuesday. The Bison erased an early 3-0 deficit, and the ultra-tight game was deadlocked at 4-4, 5-5, 6-6, 7-7, and 8-8 before Alex Nesbitt scored the go-ahead goal 3:31 remaining.
Bucknell had to get three defensive stops to protect that 9-8 lead, and the game ended with Nesbitt pouncing on a ground ball after Aliza Thir broke up a pass in the closing seconds.
It was a fitting way to finish the game, as the Bison piled up 18 caused turnovers in the game. Jess Leon, in her first season as a starting defender after transitioning to lacrosse from field hockey, led the way with five CTs. Attacker Megan Krestinski had three on the ride as the Bison held the Broncs to 15-for-21 clearing efficiency.
Taylor 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. McClain assisted on all three of Allie Boyce's goals. Boyce remains in the No. 7 spot on Bucknell's all-time list with 120 career goals. She needs seven more to catch Sue Gray and Katelyn Miller on the career chart.
One area in which the Bison will be looking for improvement is on the draws. Through two games they have won just 10 of 45 draw controls. The defense has helped counter that by forcing 41 turnovers.
Colleen Kazanjian has started both games in goal thus far and has totaled 10 saves. Seven of those stops came in a strong performance against Rider on Tuesday. After allowing goals on Rider's first three possessions of the day, Kazanjian and the defense buckled down and conceded only five more the rest of the way.

Villanova at a Glance

The Wildcats have already played four games and are 2-2 in 2025. Villanova won its first two, 20-4 over Binghamton and 14-10 over Saint Joseph's, but has since fallen to two ranked opponents. The Wildcats took No. 17 Navy right down to the wire before falling 17-16, and on Wednesday they fell 12-5 at No. 15 Stony Brook.
Sami Carey (6-12-18), Sydney Pappas (8-4-12), Jillian Vaught (9-1-10), Elena Torres (5-4-9), Leslie Iorio (8-0-8), and Madison Freeman (6-0-6) are the top point producers in a balanced Villanova attack. Carey had five goals and six assists for an 11-point afternoon in the season-opener against Binghamton.
Iorio has already won two Big East Freshman of the Week awards.
Villanova was picked third in the Big East preseason poll. Mary Moore, the reigning Big East Freshman of the Year, Pappas, Emma Verhoest, and Maddy Stoddard were all preseason all-conference selections.
Verhoest already has 43 draw controls in four games, as the Wildcats have compiled a 68-41 edge in DCs on their opponents.

The Bucknell-Villanova Series

Bucknell is 6-16 all-time against Villanova in a series that dates back to 1989.
The Bison won 10-6 at Villanova in 2017, but the Wildcats have captured the last three meetings.
Last season, Villanova held off a Bucknell comeback attempt and won 16-12. The Wildcats jumped out to a 7-0 lead before the Bison went on a run and closed within 10-9 early in the fourth quarter. But All-Big East attacker Sydney Pappas scored just over a minute later, igniting a six-goal flurry for Villanova. Emily Baird paced the Bison with five goals, while Pappas had four for the Wildcats.
Villanova was an associate member of the Patriot League in women's lacrosse from 2001-06. Bucknell won four of those six intraconference meetings.

Kent State at a Glance

The Golden Flashes are off to a 2-1 start after beating Presbyterian 15-5 at home on Thursday. Kent State started the season with a 13-9 win at George Mason before falling at George Washington 13-6. They will host Cincinnati on Sunday before making the trip to Lewisburg.
Lizzie Lundeen scored five goals to lead Kent State to the one-sided win over Presbyterian. Lundeen leads the team with 10 goals on the season, followed by Morgan Halli and Zayda Crumpton with five each. Halli also has a team-high five assists, and Crumpton leads the squad with 16 draw controls.
Sydney Davis and Ella Gravitt have split time in goal, combining for 23 saves and 27 goals against.
Kent State finished 6-11 overall and 3-3 in the Mid-American Conference last season. Crumpton was a First Team All-MAC selection after recording 34 goals and 20 assists, while Halli and Davis were named to the MAC All-Freshman Team.

The Bucknell-Kent State Series

The Bison and Golden Flashes met for the first time last season, and Bucknell won 15-12 in Ohio.
Allie Boyce recorded a hat trick, including her 100th career goal, and Abby Henderson and Regan Sansiviero notched their first career goals in the win.
It was a 2-2 game midway through the first period when Henderson's goal ignited a 6-0 Bucknell surge.

Next Up

Bucknell hits the road on Saturday to face Mount St. Mary's at 4 p.m.

Women's Lax Continues Homestand against Villanova Saturday, Kent State Tuesday

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Emily Baird

Allie Boyce

Abby Henderson

Colleen Kazanjian

Megan Krestinski

Jess Leon

Taylor McClain

Alex Nesbitt

Regan Sansiviero

Aliza Thir

Women's Lax Continues Homestand against Villanova Saturday, Kent State Tuesday

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Emily Baird

Allie Boyce

Abby Henderson

Colleen Kazanjian

Megan Krestinski

Jess Leon

Taylor McClain

Alex Nesbitt

Regan Sansiviero

Aliza Thir

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