Bucknell University Athletics
Friday, October 16
Annapolis, Md.
7 p.m.
Bucknell University
at
Navy
Photo by: Will Micciche
Women's Soccer Heads to Annapolis for Friday-Night Bout with Navy
10/14/2026 11:08:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Bucknell (6-5-4, 3-0-2 PL) at Navy (10-4-2, 3-1-1 PL)
When:Â Friday, Oct. 16, 7 p.m.
Where:Â Glenn Warner Soccer Facility, Annapolis, Md.
Streaming:Â ESPN+
Live Stats:Â NavySports.com
About the Bison
Aug. 17 – Ingrid Murphy (Rookie)
Aug. 24 – Presley Sutter (Forward)
Sept. 14 – Clare Nemsick (Defender), Sarah McFarland (Goalkeeper & Rookie)
Sept. 21 – Louisa Thomsen (Midfielder)
Sept. 28 – Emma Gavin (Defender)
Oct. 5 – Sarah McFarland (Goalkeeper)
Oct. 12 – Gaby Parker (Forward), Sarah McFarland (Goalkeeper)
When:Â Friday, Oct. 16, 7 p.m.
Where:Â Glenn Warner Soccer Facility, Annapolis, Md.
Streaming:Â ESPN+
Live Stats:Â NavySports.com
About the Bison
- Bucknell brings a six-game unbeaten streak (3-0-3) to Annapolis on Friday night for a clash between teams currently sitting second and third in the Patriot League standings. The Bison remained unbeaten (3-0-2) in league play after a 2-1 road win at Boston University last Saturday. The result vaulted them up to second place with 11 points, just two behind first-place Army (4-0-1). Meanwhile Navy (3-1-1) enters the sixth round of PL action with 10 points, just one behind Bucknell and one ahead of fourth-place Lafayette.
- The top six teams qualify for the Patriot League Tournament, and the top two earn byes into the semifinals. Since the tournament expanded to six teams in 2013, no team with 12 or more points has missed the postseason, and only three times has a team with 11 points been left out.
- Nickerson Field is typically a tough place to get a result, but the Bison came home with all three points last Saturday against the defending regular-season champs. Sophomore forward Gaby Parker scored both goals in the 2-1 win. She tallied just nine minutes in after Presley Sutter headed on Sarah McFarland's long punt. After Boston University tied it on a penalty kick late in the first half, Parker struck again in the 61st minute off assists from Sutter and Louisa Thomsen.
- Bucknell has been carried by its defense in recent weeks, and that back line will be tested on Friday by a Navy squad that leads the league in scoring at 2.1 goals per game. Since conceding three first-half goals at Towson on Sept. 6, Bucknell has given up only two goals in its last six contests, and both of those were on penalty kicks. The defense has now gone 587:25 – nearly 10 hours of game action – without giving up a goal in the run of play. That five-game run includes a scoreless tie against No. 23 Villanova followed by the first five Patriot League matches.
- Freshman goalkeeper Sarah McFarland notched her third Patriot League Goalkeeper of the Week citation of the season and second in a row on Monday. McFarland made six saves against Boston University and also collected his first career assist. Â
- Gaby Parker was also honored as the Forward of the Week, and seven different Bison have now combined to capture 10 Patriot League weekly awards this season.Â
Aug. 17 – Ingrid Murphy (Rookie)
Aug. 24 – Presley Sutter (Forward)
Sept. 14 – Clare Nemsick (Defender), Sarah McFarland (Goalkeeper & Rookie)
Sept. 21 – Louisa Thomsen (Midfielder)
Sept. 28 – Emma Gavin (Defender)
Oct. 5 – Sarah McFarland (Goalkeeper)
Oct. 12 – Gaby Parker (Forward), Sarah McFarland (Goalkeeper)
- Heading into last week's game in Boston, the Bison had been generating plenty of shots but were having trouble converting chances into goals. The script flipped against the Terriers, as Bucknell scored twice despite being held to a season-low six attempts.
- McFarland has six shutouts on the season, the most ever for a Bucknell freshman goalkeeper and currently the second-most among all Division I freshman. Only Iowa's Braelynn Gait has more with seven.
- Caitlyn Scott has been an impactful addition to the starting lineup. The senior made her first career start against No. 23 Villanova and shined in a scoreless draw against the high-scoring Wildcats. Scott has played the full 90 minutes in each of the last six games in a holding center midfield position. Nemsick, Gavin, and Julia Palitti have all been outstanding on the back line.
- Ingrid Murphy has been an offensive catalyst in her rookie season. She leads the team and ranks sixth in the Patriot League lead with four goals, and she is also sixth in the league lead in points with 10.
- Parker, who leads the league in shots with 43, now has three goals and three assists on the season, while Sutter and Thomsen both have two goals and three assists. Dani Howard, Katie Connell, and Tennessee Murphy also have two goals, and Clare Nemsick is tied for the team lead in assists with three. Â
- The Bison have outscored opponents 20-15 on the season, with the 20 goals coming from nine different players. Sixteen players have registered a point.
- After the scoreless draw at No. 23 Villanova, McFarland was named to the TopDrawerSoccer Team of the Week, and her spectacular diving save in the 89th minute was selected as the IWOC National Save of the Week.
- The Mount St. Mary's win on Aug. 20 was career victory No. 100 for head coach Kelly Cook, who is now in her 12th season on the Bison sideline. Six of her previous 11 have resulted in a Patriot League regular-season or tournament championship. With a 104-76-36 career record, Cook is Bucknell's winningest women's soccer coach.  Â
- Navy's 10 overall wins are the most in the Patriot League, and the Mids are 9-2-1 in their last 12 games.
- Most recently, Navy played academy rival Army to a 0-0 defensive struggle in Chester, Pa., on Friday. Prior to that, the Mids beat Colgate, Lehigh, and Holy Cross by identical 3-1 scorelines.
- Navy is far and away the highest-scoring team in the Patriot League. The Mids have 34 goals, and only Army (21), Boston University (20), and Bucknell (20) have at least 20. Last week's game against Army marked only the fourth time Navy has been shut out, and the Mids have multiple goals in 10 of their 16 games.
- Jessica Black (5-5-15) and Chiara Consenza (3-4-10) have reached the 10-point mark, and Faith Graziano, Kayana Adlam, and Helen Bonner all have three goals apiece. Black's 15 points are the most in the Patriot League, and on a per-game basis she ranks third at 1.0 ppg.
- Navy has also been stout defensively, ranking second in the league with a 1.00 goals-against average.
- Natasha Stamrood has started 14 games in goal and has a 1.17 GAA and .789 save percentage. She has three solo shutouts on the season and matched her season high with eight saves against Holy Cross two weeks ago.
- Cosenza, a senior, and Bucknell sophomore Audra Toth both attended Westfield High School in New Jersey.
- Carin Gabarra is in her 34th season as Navy's head coach. A former U.S. National Team player, she is the only head coach in program history.
- Bucknell is 14-20-3 against Navy in a series that dates back to 1994.
- The Bison have had the better of the recent matchups, going 4-1-1 in the last six meetings on the heels of three straight Navy wins.
- Last season at Emmitt Field, Henna Andican's 86th-minute equalizer helped Bucknell salvage a 1-1 draw. The Bison were fighting from behind for most of the day, as Bonner put Navy on the board in the ninth minute.
- Bucknell's last trip to Annapolis came in 2024, and the Bison won 1-0 on Teresa Deda's 30th-minute goal off an assist from Katie Connell. Â
- These two teams have met six times in the postseason, with Bucknell winning four. Most recently, the Bison won 1-0 in overtime on Deda's golden goal in the 2021 semifinals.
- Kendall Ham's hat trick in the first 21 minutes of the match sent the Bison to a 3-2 win in the 2017 PL championship, and the Bison also beat Navy 2-1 in the 2001 final for their first-ever league title. Navy avenged that loss in 2007 with a 1-0 win over top-seeded Bucknell in the final at Emmitt Field.Â
- Bucknell returns home next Saturday, Oct. 24 against first-place Army at 1 p.m. The Black Knights host Lafayette this Saturday before heading to Lewisburg.
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/ Women's SoccerWednesday, October 14
Wednesday, October 14
Monday, October 12
Monday, October 12