Women's Soccer Hosts Colgate Saturday on Senior Day

Saturday, October 31

Lewisburg, Pa.

2 p.m.

Bucknell University

Colgate

Photo by: Will Micciche

10/28/2026 4:47:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Colgate (2-11-3, 1-5-1 PL) at Bucknell (6-7-3, 3-2-2 PL)
When: Saturday, Oct. 31, 2 p.m.
Where: Emmitt Field at Holmes Stadium
Streaming: ESPN+
Live Stats: BucknellBison.com
Happenings: Senior Day

About the Bison

We're down to two match days remaining in the regular season, and Patriot League Tournament seeding is up for grabs in what should be an interesting final week. Among the 10 teams, only Army has clinched one of the six tournament bids, and only American and Lehigh have been eliminated from postseason contention.
Army has risen to the top of the table, outscoring league foes 18-0 on the way to a 6-0-1 record and 19 points. Navy (5-1-1) is second with 16 points and can clinch a playoff spot with a win or tie at Lafayette on Friday. Then then standings get jammed up with five teams between 10-12 points. Bucknell (3-2-2) is in that group, tied for fourth with Holy Cross (3-2-2) on 11 points. Loyola (3-1-3) is third with 12 points but still has to play both service academies, and Lafayette (3-3-1) and Boston University (3-3-1) are tied for sixth with 10. Colgate (1-5-1) is eighth with four points, but the Raiders still have life if they can win out and have Lafayette and Boston University both lose their final two.
Bucknell can clinch a postseason spot with a win over Colgate and a loss by either Lafayette or Boston University.
Tournament seeding is important, as the top two seeds earn byes into the semifinals, while the 3 and 4 seeds earn the right to host quarterfinal matches.
Bucknell will honor its seven seniors prior to Saturday's game against Colgate. Riley Hayes, Ashley Kozlowski, Lily Moraller, Julia Palitti, Carleigh Robertson, Caitlyn Scott, and Dylan Zednik all contributed to a Patriot League Tournament title as freshmen and a regular-season crown as sophomores.
The Bison are looking to shake a two-game losing streak, with both losses coming to the academies. Most recently, Bucknell fell 4-0 to Army last Saturday. It was an even match until the Black Knights snuck a redirect just inches over the goal line with 90 seconds left in the first half. They added a second on a penalty kick in the 65th minute and then tacked on two more in the final 15.
Bucknell had an impressive defensive stretch going until conceding four times against Army. In their previous seven contests, the Bison had allowed only three goals, and all three came on penalty kicks. The defense went 720:55 – more than 12 hours of game action – without giving up a goal in the run of play until Sabrina Rogers ended the streak.
Bucknell ranks third in the Patriot League in goals-against average (1.25), while Colgate is seventh (1.69). At the other end, Bucknell is fifth in scoring (1.25), while Colgate is 10th (0.63).
Freshman goalkeeper Sarah McFarland has notched three Patriot League Goalkeeper of the Week citations along with one Rookie of the Week honor. Seven different Bison have combined to capture 10 Patriot League weekly awards this season.

Bucknell 2026 Patriot League Players of the Week
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)

McFarland has six shutouts on the season, the most ever for a Bucknell freshman goalkeeper and sixth-most among all Division I freshmen.
Ingrid Murphy has been an offensive catalyst in her rookie season. She leads the team and ranks ninth in the Patriot League lead with four goals, and she is ninth in the league lead in points with 10.
Gaby Parker, who is second in the league in shots with 44, has three goals and three assists on the season, while Presley Sutter and Louisa 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.
The Bison have an even 20-20 goal differential on the season, with the 20 goals coming from nine different players. Sixteen players have registered a point. Of the 20 goals against, 12 have been confined to three games against Penn State (5), Army (4), and Towson (3), three times who are a combined 27-14-7 on the season.
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 104-78-36 career record, Cook is Bucknell's winningest women's soccer coach.

Colgate at a Glance/Series History

The Raiders have had a tough season, but they come to Lewisburg on Saturday still with a chance to make the postseason. Colgate also has Boston University at home on Wednesday and would need to beat the Bison and Terriers and get help from above to make the six-team tournament.
Colgate's two wins have both come on the road against Marist (1-0 on Aug. 20) and American (2-0 on Oct. 10). The Raiders also have draws against Maine (0-0), Cornell (0-0), and Lehigh (2-2).
That Lehigh tie came in their most recent outing last Saturday. After going down 1-0, Ava McCloskey and Bianca Howitt scored to give Colgate a 2-1 lead. But Esther Brossard answered four minutes into the second half, and the Raiders settled for a draw despite a 26-13 shot advantage.
Colgate has been outscored 27-10 on the season. McCloskey, Howitt, and Lydia Thornton lead the team with two goals apiece, and Regan Taylor has a goal and three assists.
Ella Poppinga has started all 16 games in goal and has a .761 save percentage and 1.63 GAA. The senior was selected as the Patriot League Preseason Goalkeeper of the Year after earning Third Team laurels in 2025.
Colgate went 9-6-4 overall and 6-2-1 in Patriot League play last season. The Raiders were the No. 2 seed in the Patriot League Tournament but fell 2-1 at home to Army in the semifinals.
Bucknell is 11-25-3 all-time against Colgate dating back to the first meeting in 1991. The Raiders won 15 of the first 17 meetings, but the series has been more even of late. The Bison are 5-4-1 in the last 10.
Colgate won 4-2 in Hamilton last season. The Raiders jumped out to a 3-0 lead on goals from Ellie Stokes, Jess Urena, and Ari Bezanson, but Caitlyn Scott and Katie Connell scored in the second half to pull the Bison within 3-2. Josie Tunney tacked on an insurance goal from the penalty spot in the 78th minute to ice it for Colgate.
The most recent meeting at Emmitt Field came in 2024, and Bucknell rolled to a 3-0 win. Then freshman Presley Sutter scored her first career goal late in the first half, and Teresa Deda followed with two goals in the second half. Riley Hayes picked up an assist on the third tally.
Bucknell and Colgate have met five times in Patriot League Tournament play. The Raiders are 4-0-1 in those five games, and after the 0-0 draw in the 2013 quarterfinals. Colgate advanced 5-4 in penalty kicks. The most recent postseason matchup came in the 2014 semifinals, when Colgate won 2-1 in a game that was played throughout a snowstorm in Hamilton.

The Road Ahead

The Bison wrap up the regular season with a Wednesday matinee at American. The Bison and Eagles kick off at 1 p.m. at Reeves Field.
The Patriot League Tournament starts with quarterfinal action on Sunday, Nov. 8.