Women's Soccer Makes Home Debut this Week with Matches against Mount St. Mary's, La Salle

Thursday, August 20

Lewisburg, Pa.

4 p.m.

Bucknell University

Mount St. Mary's

Photo by: John Sieber via UM Athletics

Women's Soccer Makes Home Debut this Week with Matches against Mount St. Mary's, La Salle

8/18/2026 3:10:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Mount St. Mary's (0-2) at Bucknell (1-1)
When: Thursday, Aug. 20, 4 p.m.
Where: Emmitt Field at Holmes Stadium, Lewisburg, Pa.
Streaming: ESPN+
Live Stats: BucknellBison.com

La Salle (1-0) at Bucknell (1-1)
When: Sunday, Aug. 23, 1 p.m.
Where: Emmitt Field at Holmes Stadium, Lewisburg, Pa.
Streaming: ESPN+
Live Stats: BucknellBison.com

About the Bison

Bucknell kicks off its 2026 home schedule with a pair of games at Emmitt Field this week. The Bison host Mount St. Mary's on Thursday and La Salle on Sunday. The game against the Mountaineers is the front half of a soccer doubleheader at Emmitt, as the Bison men will host Hofstra at 7:30 p.m.
The Bison split a pair of matches on a western road trip last weekend. Bucknell opened the campaign with a 1-0 win at defending Big Sky champion Montana but then fell 1-0 at Eastern Washington on a goal in the 81st minute.
Freshman midfielder Ingrid Murphy tallied the team's first goal of the season off an assist from Gaby Parker in the 15th minute at Montana. Murphy, who earned Patriot League Rookie of the Week honors on Monday, became the first Bison freshman to score in a season opener since Petie Nassetta against Robert Morris in 2019.
Murphy leads the team with eight shot attempts. In addition to her goal, three of her shots have been denied by the woodwork.
Murphy was one of three freshmen to start on opening day, joining goalkeeper Sarah McFarland and outside back Clare Nemsick. McFarland got the call in both games last week and brings a 0.50 goals-against average into Thursday's home opener.
Bucknell returned nine starters from last year's squad, including the entire back four. Senior captain Julia Palitti anchors the back line in her third year as a starting center back. Six of the eight players who scored goals in 2025 are back this season, although the Bison did graduate top scorer Henna Andican (6G).
Bucknell's next win will be career victory No. 100 for head coach Kelly Cook, who is entering 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 99-72-33 career record, Cook is Bucknell's winningest women's soccer coach.
In their first-ever trip to Montana, the Bison delivered a rare home loss for the Grizzlies, who were 18-1-5 over the previous two seasons and 42-8-13 in the previous seven years on home soil.
Bucknell outshot Eastern Washington 21-11, with 17 of those attempts coming in the second half. The Bison hit three posts, and the Eagles' goalkeeper made nine saves to give her team the opportunity to win it late.

Mount St. Mary's at a Glance/Series History

The Mountaineers dropped their first two games of the season to in-state rivals UMBC (3-1) and Towson (2-0). Mount St. Mary's conceded twice in the opening 20 minutes in both games.
Akron transfer Fineen Cregan scored the team's goal on a penalty kick against UMBC, cutting the deficit to 2-1, but the Mount conceded again in the 69th minute.
While the shot chart was fairly even against UMBC, Mount St. Mary's was outshot 22-2 against Towson on Monday.
The Mount finished 3-12-2 overall and 1-9-2 in the Metro last season. This year's squad was pocked 12th in the Metro preseason poll.
Top scorer Cassidy Nichols (4G, 2A) is back this season, as is starting goalkeeper Abby Makela.
Bucknell is 15-1-1 all-time against Mount St. Mary's, including wins in each of the last six head-to-head meetings. The Mount's only results against the Bison came in back-to-back seasons, a 3-0 win in Lewisburg in 2010 followed by a 0-0 draw in Emmitsburg in 2011.
The Bison have kept clean sheets in six of the last seven meetings, with the lone exception a 7-1 win in 2014.
The two teams have not officially met since 2021, when Bucknell won 2-0 at Waldron Family Stadium. Paige Temple and Abby Gearhart scored five minutes apart midway through the first half, and the Bison might have had more if not for 13 saves from Arden Lembryk. Kenar Gelman and Teresa Deda had two assists apiece for the Bison, who outshot Mount St. Mary's 27-6.
In 2022, Bucknell and Mount St. Mary's played 45 minutes before the match was abandoned due to heavy rain and lightning. The Bison led 1-0 on a Rylee Donaldson goal, but the stats were wiped out.
The last completed match at Emmitt Field was a 5-0 Bucknell verdict in 2016. The win was fueled by a Kendall Ham hat trick, with Alexis Gannon and Bailey Hurst also finding the back of the net.

La Salle at a Glance/Series History

The Explorers debuted last Thursday with a 2-1 home win over American. After conceding a penalty kick goal to Lauren Sanders just 6:53 into the match, La Salle turned it around with second-half goals from Taylor Jourdanais and Sienna Mount. Ella Cadigan assisted on both goals for the Explorers, who outshot the Eagles 21-7. American's only official shot on goal was the penalty kick.
La Salle will play at No. 11 Virginia on Thursday before heading to Lewisburg.
Coach Paul Royal is in his 24th season at La Salle, and his side finished 7-8-3 overall and 4-4-2 in the Atlantic 10 a year ago. The Explorers were picked eighth in this year's preseason poll, matching their finish from 2025.
Justyce Hollenbach, a Harrisburg native, returns for her fifth season after leading the team with six goals and 14 points a year ago. Senior defender Rylee Henson was La Salle's assists leader in 2025 with five. Alexis Garcia (5G, 2A), Kayden Williams (4G, 5A), Kameron Rose (4G), and Cadigan (3G, 1A) are also coming off productive seasons for a La Salle team than scored 28 goals in 18 games.
Samantha Widnick is in her first season as La Salle's starting goalkeeper after transferring from crosstown rival Drexel. Widnick started 17 games for the Dragons last season and was 2-7-8 with six shutouts.
Bucknell and La Salle will be squaring off for the fourth year in a row. Bucknell won the first two meetings 3-1 and 2-1, before the Explorers prevailed 3-2 last season in Philadelphia. It's been a high-scoring series, with goals from both sides in every game.
Last year's clash came in the season opener. Bucknell twice erased one-goal deficits, only for La Salle to win it on a Garcia goal in the 58th minute. Henna Andican and Louisa Thomsen scored Bucknell's goals, both coming from long range. Jillian Drumm and Williams also tallied for La Salle.
In 2024 at Emmitt Field, Andican scored in the opening two minutes, and Teresa Deda added a PK in the 26th minute to send the Bison on their way to a 2-1 win. Haley Gschrey scored on the hour mark for the Explorers.
Reese Evans, Katie Schiano, and Kelly Francis were the goal-scorers in Bucknell's 3-1 win in Philadelphia in 2023. Elizabeth Estrada opened the scoring in the 16th minute, but Evans equalized three minutes later and the Bison tacked on two more in a wild first half. That La Salle team went on to finish 8-1-1 in the Atlantic 10.

The Road Ahead

Bucknell heads an hour west to face Penn State next Thursday at 7:30 p.m. The game will be streamed on Big Ten Network Plus. The Nittany Lions are ranked 23rd in this week's United Soccer Coaches Poll. Penn State opened the season with a 2-2 draw at No. 2 Notre Dame, and they visit No. 22 West Virginia this Thursday before hosting the Bison.
Bucknell's next home game will be on Sunday, Aug. 30 against Saint Joseph's at 2 p.m. The Hawks are also off to a strong start with two high-scoring home wins over Drexel (3-2) and Hofstra (3-1). They visit Lafayette this weekend before coming to Lewisburg.