Saturday, September 27
Worcester, Mass.
1 p.m.
Bucknell University
at
Holy Cross
Photo by: Isabelle Roes
Women's Soccer Back on Road Saturday to Face Holy Cross
9/24/2025 5:37:00 PM | Women's Soccer
Bucknell (3-5-2, 1-0-0 PL) at Holy Cross (3-4-3, 0-0-1 PL)
When:Â Saturday, Sept. 27, 1 p.m.
Where:Â Linda Johnson Smith Soccer Stadium, Worcester, Mass.
Streaming:Â ESPN+
Live Stats:Â GoHolyCross.com
Bucknell at a Glance
When:Â Saturday, Sept. 27, 1 p.m.
Where:Â Linda Johnson Smith Soccer Stadium, Worcester, Mass.
Streaming:Â ESPN+
Live Stats:Â GoHolyCross.com
Bucknell at a Glance
- Bucknell kicked off Patriot League play with a well-earned 2-0 away win over Lehigh last week, and now the Bison are back on the road in round two for a match at Holy Cross this Saturday.
- Bucknell, American (vs. Army), and Navy (vs. Boston U.) were all winners on the opening day of league play, while the Holy Cross-Loyola and Colgate-Lafayette matches ended in draws.
- The Bison have a different look this season, as 12 players have made their first career starts and five have scored their first career goals. After starting 0-3 with losses to La Salle (3-2), Delaware (2-1), and Monmouth (3-2), Bucknell is 3-2-2 since then. That stretch includes an impressive 1-1 tie at ACC foe Pittsburgh and a tough 1-0 loss to No. 16 Georgetown, when the only goal came on an 87th-minute penalty kick. All five of the team's losses are by one-goal margins.
- Bucknell earned its first clean sheet of the season on Saturday at Lehigh. Sophomore Reese Dolan, who has started the last seven games between the pipes, made six saves on the way to her first career shutout and Patriot League Goalkeeper of the Week honors.
- Katie Connell and Gaby Parker were the goal-scorers at Lehigh, with both tallies coming in the first 32 minutes of the match. After Dani Howard was taken down in the box, Connell converted from the penalty spot for her fourth goal of the season. Just 20 minutes later, Parker scored on a counter-attack after Louisa Thomsen nicked the ball off the foot of a Mountain Hawk near midfield.
- Henna Andican continues to lead the team with five goals, and now Connell has four and Parker two. Andican (5-1-11) and Connell (4-2-10) are two of the seven Patriot League players who have reached double figures in the points column. Andican is third in the league in goals behind Navy's Marlee Heaven (7) and Army's Brigid Duffy (6).
- Dolan now ranks fourth in the PL in goals-against average (0.86) and save percentage (.829).
- Bucknell is the third-highest-scoring team in the league, averaging 1.5 goals per game. Only Navy (2.2) and Army (2.0) average more.
- The 1-1 draw at Pittsburgh was a good result for the Bison, who had fallen 5-0 and 5-1 to the Panthers in 2023 and 2024. Bucknell conceded a goal in the seventh minute before blanking Pitt for the final 83 minutes. That left the door open for a sensational game-tying strike from eventual Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week Katie Connell with 20 minutes remaining.
- Bucknell won three straight Patriot League championships from 2021-23, and last year the Bison claimed the PL regular-season title before falling to Boston University in a 10-round penalty-kick shootout in the championship match. The Bison graduated a highly decorated senior class, led by three-time PL Midfielder of the Year Teresa Deda and 2024 PL Defensive Player of the Year Katie Schiano.
- Andican and Connell both earned Preseason All-Patriot League honors. Andican was a Second Team All-PL pick in 2023, but last year she suffered a season-ending injury in just the fifth game of the campaign. Connell was a Third Team All-PL pick as a freshman in 2024.
- 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 98-68-29 (.577) and a Patriot League mark of 53-20-14 (.690). 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.      Â
- Holy Cross has played good soccer this fall and is 3-1-2 in its last six matches. The Crusaders' only loss by more than one goal is a 3-1 home setback to Syracuse on Aug. 24.
- Holy Cross tied Loyola 1-1 in Baltimore in its league opener last Saturday. Olivia Perez opened the scoring in the 68th minute, but Ava Blizzard equalized for Loyola in the 74th.
- The Crusaders have gotten balanced scoring this season, with nine players accounting for their 10 goals. Perez leads the team with two goals and six points. The senior also scored in a 3-1 win over New Hampshire.
- Freshman Aubrey Haesche has started nine of the team's 10 goals and has 44 saves with only five goals against. Holy Cross is the third-hardest team to score on in the Patriot League, and Haesche leads the league in GAA (0.61) and save percentage (.898).
- Holy Cross went 5-11-2 overall and 2-5-2 in the Patriot League last season. The Crusaders were picked T-8th in the PL preseason poll.Â
- Bucknell is 25-6-3 all-time against Holy Cross, including nine straight home wins.
- The Bison are 12-3-2 in Worcester and 13-2-1 in Lewisburg.
- The Bison won 1-0 at home last year on Senior Day. Sydney Hess's 67th-minute header was the difference.
- Bucknell's last trip to Worcester resulted in a scoreless draw, even though there were 31 total shots in the match (HC 16-15). Jenna Hall made six saves for the Bison, who played without all-star Teresa Deda.
- In addition to Hess, Henna Andican also has a goal against Holy Cross. She scored the opening goal in a 5-1 win at Emmitt Field in 2022.
- Bucknell and Holy Cross have met only once in the postseason, and that was back in 2000. The Crusaders won 1-0 in the semifinals at Colgate.Â
- Bucknell has two Patriot League games on tap next week, a home affair with Lafayette on Wednesday followed by a trip to Baltimore to face Loyola the following Saturday.
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