Bucknell University Athletics
Bucknell University
9-6, 5-4
Loyola
11-6, 7-2
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bucknell | 2 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 9 |
| Loyola Maryland | 1 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 15 |
WLAX Falls to #23 Loyola; Earns First Conference Tournament Home Game in History
4/23/2026 8:10:00 PM | Women's Lacrosse
BALTIMORE, Md. — Despite a 15-9 loss to Loyola (Md.), Bucknell women's lacrosse, for the first time in program history, will be hosting a Patriot League tournament game thanks to Holy Cross defeating Boston University earlier this afternoon.
In their loss to the Greyhounds, the Bison kept the game close throughout the first half and even held multiple leads, before the third quarter created separation and secured the win for Loyola. The first quarter was a defensive masterclass as it ended with just a 2-1 scoreline in favor of the Bison. Megan Krestinski got back-to-back goals midway through and Bella Crowley came up big with two saves to help Bucknell earn that early one-goal lead. The second quarter went in favor of the Greyhounds as they out-scored Bucknell 4-2 to take a 5-4 lead into halftime. Bella Crowley kept it close, coming up with three more saves, including two free-position saves. The third quarter went all Loyola as it held Bucknell scoreless and tacked on six goals of its own to make it 11-4. The fourth quarter was more back-and-forth play and Bucknell put-scored Loyola 5-4, but it wouldn't be enough to get the win.
Megan Krestinski led Bucknell's scoring as she notched three points on three goals, bringing her just two points away from tying Bucknell's single-season points record. Caleigh Cummiskey followed with two goals and Alex Nesbitt notched two points on one goal and one assist. Kat Reynolds, Estella Geller and Regan Sansiviero rounded out Bucknell scoring with one goal each.
The draw control battle went heavily in Loyola's direction as it won 21 of the 26 draws to help them pull away in the game. Krestinski and Alex Macutek led the efforts for Bucknell with two draws apiece.
Loyola also won the caused turnover battle as they recorded 10 to Bucknell's 6. The Bison recorded one less turnover than the Greyhounds with 12, but it wasn't enough to combat the draw control difference. Six different Bison recorded one caused turnover in the game.
After over three minutes went scoreless to open the game and Bucknell's defense did a great job of containing Loyola's offense for most of that time, the Greyhounds got a man-up opportunity and converted on it to open the scoring in Baltimore. Bucknell's goalie Bella Crowley then came up big with two saves in the next four scoreless minutes to keep Bucknell's deficit to just one. Megan Krestinski then found back-to-back goals as the Bison scored, won the draw and then scored again to take a 2-1 lead. The final 6:16 went scoreless as both defensive efforts came through.
The Greyhounds opened the second quarter with two unanswered goals to regain the lead 3-2 with 12:15 left in the first half. Krestinski then got her third of the game on a man-up free-position bouncer off a shot to tie the game back up at 3. Bucknell then adjusted to more of a man-to-man defense and Kate Hearns came up with a huge ground ball which Alex Nebsitt then used to find Regan Sansiviero for a goal to give the Bison a lead. Loyola then went on a 2-0 run to take a 5-4 lead with 3:53 left in the first half.
Loyola continued its scoring prowess with a 6-0 run to open the second half and extend its lead to 11-4 at the end of the third quarter while shutting out the Bison.
The fourth quarter opened with a 2-0 run for the Bison as Caleigh Cummiskey got her first goal of the game to break a 8-0 scoring run from the Greyhounds across the last two quarters and then Kat Reynolds beat a defender to cut the deficit to five. Loyola then went on a 2-0 run to make it a 13-6 game, but Alex Nesbitt cut that off with a goal to cut the deficit back to six with 6:30 left to play. The remainder of the contest went 2-2 with Estella Geller and Cummiskey notching goals before the end of the game for the Bison as they fell 15-9 in Baltimore.
The Bison will next host a Patriot League first-round game on Sunday, April 26 at 1 p.m. in Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium.
