Women's Soccer Heads to Western PA Twice this Week for Matchups with Saint Francis, Pitt

Bucknell (1-4) at Saint Francis (0-3-1)
When: Thursday, Sept. 4, 4 p.m.
Where: Stokes Soccerplex, Loretto, Pa.
Streaming: NEC Front Row
Live Stats: SFUAthletics.com

Bucknell (1-4) at Pittsburgh (4-2)
When: Sunday, Sept. 7, 1 p.m.
Where: Ambrose Urbanic Field, Pittsburgh, Pa.
Streaming: ACC Network Extra
Live Stats: PittsburghPanthers.com

Bucknell at a Glance

Bucknell heads to Western Pennsylvania for two games this week, taking on Saint Francis on Thursday and Pittsburgh on Sunday. This young Bison squad is 1-4 on the season, with every game thus far decided by one goal.
The Bison are coming off a hard-fought 1-0 loss to Villanova on Sunday at Emmitt Field. Bucknell defended very well for 90 minutes, but the Wildcats cashed in on a free kick from a dangerous area two minutes into the second half. The Bison missed a potential tying penalty kick later in the match and had some other quality chances, but they were kept off the scoresheet for the first time this season.
Bucknell's first win of the season was a 2-1 home result against FDU on Aug. 24. The Bison suffered three agonizing one-goal losses against good competition to start the season before beating the Knights on freshman Emma Gavin's second-half goal.
Henna Andican stunned FDU with a goal just 46 seconds into the match, when she picked the pocket of a fullback, turned and fired from 25 yards out. The Knights pulled even on a Dominique Liberto penalty kick in the 23rd minute, but Gavin's first collegiate goal held up as the game-winner in the 62nd minute. After the FDU goalkeeper punched away Riley Hayes' corner kick, Gavin one-timed the rebound inside the left post.
Against Monmouth, another freshman, Dani Howard, scored a dramatic equalizing goal in the 88th minute. But the Hawks won it 3-2 on a 40-yard strike from Ashley Lovich with 22 seconds remaining. Previously, the Bison fell 2-1 at Delaware on a goal in the 86th minute and 3-2 at La Salle on a goal in the 58th.
Bucknell has scored seven goals from six different players through four games. Andican leads the way with two goals and an assist, and Gavin, Howard, Katie Connell, Louisa Thomsen, and Reilly Traynor have also found the back of the net. Hayes has a team-high two assists.
On the heels of the most successful four-year run in program history, the Bison have a new look in 2025. Twelve Bison have made their first career starts this season, with the latest being forward Presley Sutter against Villanova on Sunday.
Sophomore Reese Dolan has earned starts in the last two matches. The only goal Dolan conceded in her first collegiate appearance against FDU came on a PK, and she went on to earn her first career win. She made three saves while allowing only one goal in the Villanova match.
Forwards Henna Andican and Katie Connell both earned Preseason All-Patriot League honors, and both are on the scoresheet early this season. Andican, who is back after missing most of last season with an injury, notched the team's first goal of the season at La Salle, while Connell scored a 78th-minute equalizer at Delaware.
Andican, Sydney Hess, and Meghan White are this year's captains.
Head coach Kelly Cook is in her 11th season at Bucknell, and she has led the Bison to five league titles in her first 10 years. Cook owns a career record of 96-67-27 (.576) and a Patriot League mark of 52-20-14 (.722). She holds the program records for most coaching wins and highest winning percentage.
Cook knows the Patriot League very well, as she was a two-year captain and three-time Second Team All-Patriot League selection at Colgate, where she recorded 27 goals and 23 assists in her career. She ranked in the top 10 in program history in career points (77) and assists. As a junior in 2004, Cook (then Kelly Kuss) was named Patriot League Tournament MVP after leading the Raiders to the league title, and then her team knocked off Arizona in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, marking the first NCAA win in school and league history.

Saint Francis at a Glance

The Red Flash are 0-3-1 through four games, with the draw coming against Cleveland State (1-1) and the losses to Maryland (5-0), Duquesne (3-0), and Toledo (3-0).
Riley Kerr scored Saint Francis' first goal of the season off a Kaitlyn Dempster assist in the 25th minute against Cleveland State. But the Vikings outshot SFU 37-7 and salvaged a tie on a Tanji Sarver goal in the 81st minute.
Goalkeeper Emma Sawich made nine saves against Cleveland State and has 31 in four outings this season. She also had 10 against Maryland and eight against Toledo. Sawich led the Northeast Conference with an .824 save percentage last season.
The Red Flash finished 6-9-3 overall and 4-5-1 in the NEC last season.
Second-year head coach Brian Diaz's side was picked seventh in the NEC preseason poll.
Raine Korpics is the team's top returning scorer. She tallied three goals and an assist last season.

The Bucknell-Saint Francis Series

Bucknell leads the all-time series 18-6-3 dating back to 1992. The two sides met every year from 1992-2018, with the exception of 2004, but they have clashed only once in the last six seasons.
The most recent meeting game in 2022, when Bucknell won 4-1 at Emmitt Field in the season opener. Rylee Donaldson scored twice, and Abby Gearhart and Hannah Stuck added goals for the Bison, who outshot the Red Flash 23-7. Then-freshman Henna Andican assisted on Donaldson's opening goal in the 13th minute for her first collegiate point. Lauren Pyle scored on a free kick for Saint Francis in the 65th minute to cut the margin to 4-1.
Bucknell's last trip to Loretto resulted in a 0-0 draw in 2018. The Bison are 8-3-3 all-time on Saint Francis' home field.

Pittsburgh at a Glance

Pitt started the campaign with four straight wins over Xavier (2-0), Monmouth (3-1), Ohio (1-0), and Dayton (3-0), but last week they fell twice at home to teams from the West Coast, Cal State Fullerton (1-0) and Santa Clara (2-0).
The Panthers finished 9-6-3 last season and have had to replace five of their top six goal-scorers from a year ago. Freshman Katie Ellermeyer has helped fill the gap with four goals in the early going. She scored as a reserve in each of her first two appearances against Xavier and Monmouth, then joined the starting lineup and added a brace at Dayton.
Lola Abraham has two goals, and Margaret Wilde, Magali Gagne, and Sofia Doheny have one each. Wilde, Adi Bianchin, and Lucia Wells lead the squad with two assists apiece.
Ellie Breech and Abby Reisz have each made three starts in goal. Breech is Pitt's all-time wins leader with 26, and she has 12 saves with only one goal allowed in 270 minutes. Reisz, who started her career at Tennessee, has 11 saves with three goals allowed.
Pitt was picked 11th in the ACC preseason poll. The Panthers have produced 10 or more wins in four of the last five seasons, and they are only two years removed from a run to the NCAA Elite Eight.

The Bucknell-Pittsburgh Series

The Panthers have a 4-2 lead in a series that dates back to 2000. Bucknell won the first two meetings by scores of 3-0 and 1-0, but Pittsburgh has captured the last four, including a 5-1 verdict in Lewisburg last season.
The Panthers came to Emmitt Field ranked No. 7 nationally a year ago, and the Bison got on the board first on a Teresa Deda goal in the 50th minute. But Pitt poured it on from there, scoring five times in a 29-minutes span to end Bucknell's 18-match home unbeaten streak. Katie Zailski scored off a corner kick less than four minutes after the Deda goal, and Sarah Schupansky tallied the go-ahead marker 10 minutes after that. Schupansky finished with two goals and two assists on the night. Abby Reisz made five saves for Pitt, while Jess Benattar (three saves in the first half) and Dylan Zednik (five saves in the second half) split the game in goal for the Bison.
Bucknell's last trip to Pittsburgh resulted in a 5-0 win for the 23rd-ranked Panthers.
Kristie Simon logged two goals and an assist in Bucknell's 3-0 win in the first-ever series meeting in 2000. A year later in Pittsburgh, Megan Farrell's 85th-minute strike was the difference. Laurie Purse was the winning goalkeeper in both of those shutout victories.

The Road Ahead

No. 16 Georgetown visits Emmitt Field on Thursday, Sept. 11. The Hoyas are off to a 2-0-2 start with wins over No. 15 Virginia Tech (2-1) and James Madison (4-0) along with a 2-2 draw with Old Dominion and a 1-1 tie at Virginia. The Hoyas take on Vanderbilt and South Carolina before traveling to Lewisburg.
Bucknell hosts Towson on Sunday, Sept. 14 in the final non-league game of the season. The Bison start Patriot League play the following weekend at Lehigh.

Women's Soccer Heads to Western PA Twice this Week for Matchups with Saint Francis, Pitt

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Henna Andican

Jess Benattar

Katie Connell

Teresa Deda

Reese Dolan

Emma Gavin

Riley Hayes

Sydney Hess

Dani Howard

Presley Sutter

Louisa Thomsen

Reilly Traynor

Meghan White

Dylan Zednik

Women's Soccer Heads to Western PA Twice this Week for Matchups with Saint Francis, Pitt

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Henna Andican

Jess Benattar

Katie Connell

Teresa Deda

Reese Dolan

Emma Gavin

Riley Hayes

Sydney Hess

Dani Howard

Presley Sutter

Louisa Thomsen

Reilly Traynor

Meghan White

Dylan Zednik

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