Category: Sports

Categories
Field Hockey Sports Women

Field hockey wins again in overtime

Andrew Arnao

Senior Writer

The field hockey team was shut out against the Columbia Lions on Sept. 8, but came back with an overtime win at home against the Saint Francis Red Flash to finish the weekend with a 4-2 record on the season. The Orange and Blue have been victorious in each of their last seven overtime games.

“We’ve had a few come-from-behind victories this season and we have been working really hard in practice and in games to play our best and compete at the highest level we can,” midfielder Gabby Palumbo ’15 said. “I have been so impressed by our team this season considering how young we are.”

The Bison fell behind by a goal early to Columbia, but played evenly with the Lions for the rest of the half before eventually surrendering another goal in a 2-0 defeat. Goalie Erica Perrine ’14 recorded five saves in the effort.

The game against Saint Francis (Pa.) was a different story, as the Bison took a two goal lead in the first half behind goals from forward Abby Watson ’16 and Palumbo. The lead did not last long, as the Red Flash scored three times to take a one goal lead into the last minute of regulation. With 51 seconds left, forward Rachel Misko ’14 tied the score at 3-3 on an assist from defender Tayler Siegrist ’13.

Forward Maggie Murphy ’15 provided the overtime goal, sealing the win for the Orange and Blue. The Bison are now 9-0 all-time against Saint Francis.

“I think we had some really great moments in the Saint Francis game and deserved our early lead,” said Palumbo. “Saint Francis was a really great team and they were tough to fight off … but just by the way we were playing, I knew we could come back and win.”

This weekend, the Bison will begin a stretch of five consecutive home games. They will play against Towson and nationally ranked Ohio State on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.

Categories
Cross Country Cross Country Men Sports Women

Cross Country dominates

 

Courtesy of Athletic Communications
John Dugan ’15 and Dustin Horning ’13 lead the pack. The Orange and Blue led often at the Running Fit-Detriot Invitational last weekend, where they won the team meet.

Cooper Mead

Writer

The men’s and women’s cross country teams dominated the Running Fit-Detroit Titan Invitational last weekend, winning the team meet behind some very strong individual performances.

Caroline Tolli ’13 showed her determination once again as she led the women to a team victory and won the five-kilometer race with a time of 18:27. Katie Jessee ’15 came in second overall and finished behind Tolli for the second time this season with a time of 18:50. Montana DiPietrantonio ’15 finished fourth with a time of 18:59 and Alison Billas ’16, Betsy Edinger ’15, Beth Braunegg ’14 and Meghan Carroll ’16 finished fifth through eighth, respectively.

Overall, 10 of the top 15 finishers were running for the Orange and Blue, putting them in first place out of 10 teams, with a total of 18 points and seven of the top eight spots.

“Our women took control of the meet very early and I am happy with the consistency of most of them. Eighteen points was the lowest score in the meet’s history, however, we will see better competition later on,” head coach Kevin Donner said.

The Bison defeated Wayne State (49 points) and Detroit (90 points) to earn the victory.

“The Detroit Invitational was an awesome experience because it allowed us to see our coach’s old home course and compete against teams from a different region. Our team worked really well together during the race by focusing on running in packs and staying mentally tough. We’re excited about how our season is shaping up and will be taking these next two weeks to train hard for our next meet at Saint Francis,” Braunegg said.

The Bison men also dominated the field, once again led by John Dugan ’15, who won the four-mile race with a time of 20:31. Dugan beat Nick Jackson of Wayne State by 11 seconds. D.J. Krystek ’13 placed fifth with a time of 20:52, Michael McGowan ’15 placed seventh with a time of 20:57 and Andrew Garcia-Garrison ’15 finished in ninth place with a time of 21:05.

The team completed the invitational with 26 points to beat Wayne State, who finished in second place with 47 and Detroit in third place with 62.

“Our men ran a little better than last week. It was good to get McGowan back from injury and Garcia-Garrison needs to be scoring for us as well. Winning the meet on a tough course was an honor and now we can train for 20 days without a meet to help us improve and get ready for the championships in seven weeks,” Donner said.

The Bison will have a three-week break from competition as they prepare for the Saint Francis Invitational on Sept 29.

Categories
Men Sports Tennis Tennis Women

Men’s and women’s tennis start season on a strong note

Alex Wagner
Sports Editor

Both the men’s and women’s tennis programs were successful in the opening of their season at the Bucknell Quad tournament. The Bison men won two out of three individual championships and the doubles championship, while the women had three individual runners-up and a doubles team runner-up.

Kelly Morque ’13 and Aiden Lynch ’14 won the doubles final on Sept. 8, giving the Orange and Blue their first title of the year. They defeated Brandon Gallegos and Lorenz Schwojer of Niagara University 8-6 in the final match.

On the singles side, Nick Bybel ’16 and Josh Katten ’13 emerged on top to win the A and C brackets. Bybel began his career for the Orange and Blue with a first-place finish after defeating his teammate Evan Zimmer ’13 6-4, 6-4 in the Flight A final. Katten also defeated a Bison teammate, Chris Tortora ’14, to capture Flight C.

“The preseason preparations that our coaches had for us really helped me get back in the swing of things. Normally it takes me some time to get back from taking a few weeks off from playing, but the drills and the intensity of our practices really helped me regain my form. The results from this weekend are great building blocks for the season and my college career,” Bybel said.

“For me, preseason preparations were out of the ordinary this year. Following the spring 2012 season, I underwent double knee surgery and have been on the recovery trail ever since. This first tournament gave me the opportunity to get my feet under me and to test out, as I like to say, my new knees,” Katten said.

The women’s squad showed similar promise for the upcoming season. Maria Cioffi ’16, Stephanie Pino ’16 and Claudia Silvers ’15 all put in impressive performances to reach their respective bracket finals, but none were able to pull out a victory in the final.

In finals play, newcomers Cioffi and Pino were impressive once again as they advanced to the doubles final after defeating teammates Elena Vidrascu ’14 and Lydia Colvin ’15.  Unfortunately, they came up short in the final, losing 8-1 to Megan Hahn and Olivia Ott of Loyola (Md.).

“I was extremely pleased that I was able to make it to the finals in this tournament for both singles and doubles, and I hope it sets the tone for a great season … This tournament also gave me the confidence to know that I can successfully play college tennis and contribute to the success of the tennis team. It also gave me the opportunity to identify some areas that I would like to work on so that I can continue to improve my tennis skills and perform well in the tournaments to come,” Pino said.

The next competition for the women will be on Sept. 14 at the Mount St. Mary’s Invitational. The men’s team will be back in action the same day, splitting their squad between the Mount St. Mary’s Invitational and the Princeton Invitational.

Categories
Men Sports Water Polo

Men’s water polo defeats Fordham, fall to St. Francis, California and Brown

Scott Padula
Staff writer

The men’s water polo team went 1-3 when they traveled to New Jersey to compete in the Princeton Invitational this past weekend. The Bison started the weekend by dropping a close decision to No. 20 St. Francis (N.Y.) 8-7. In their next two games, the Bison lost to No. 3 California and No. 18 Brown, 20-3 and 12-6, respectively. They bounced back in their final game of the invitational, defeating Fordham 20-8. The Orange and Blue are now 3-3 on the season.

To kick off the weekend, the Orange and Blue fell to St. Francis on Sept. 7. The Bison and Terriers played an even game throughout, responding when the other team tried to pull away. Despite falling behind 3-1 in the first quarter, the Orange and Blue were able to take a 4-3 lead into the intermission. In the second half, the Bison could not stop the Terrier attack and allowed five goals, while only scoring three of their own. Julian Colina ’14 and Mike Kimble ’14 led the Bison in scoring with two goals apiece. Stefan Aleksic ’16 was also strong for the Orange and Blue with two assists and a goal of his own.

“We moved the ball and worked well as a unit together. We also executed our offensive game plan very well, especially against St. Francis. Additionally, our five-man defense was very good. It is one of our strengths as a team and something we can rely on when the games come down to the last few possessions. The team looked good against very stiff competition, but we made a few mistakes that the other teams capitalized on,” Kimble said.

For the Orange and Blue, the second day of the Princeton Invitational started against California. The Bears scored early and often against the Bison, finding the back of the net six times in the first quarter. By the end of the second quarter, California held a commanding 7-1 lead. Along with stifling defense throughout, California ramped up their offensive production in the second half, scoring 10 times in the third quarter. The Bears added three more goals in the fourth to reach 20 total goals. Despite the offensive onslaught, co-captain Matt Napleton ’13 looked strong in goal, stopping 10 shots in the first 16 minutes of play.

In the second game, the Orange and Blue faced Brown. Despite a conscious defensive effort, the Bison could not contain Brown in the first half, allowing the Bears to take a 7-4 lead into the intermission. In the third quarter, the Orange and Blue outscored Brown 2-1 but were unable to find the back of the net in the fourth quarter, resulting in a 12-6 loss. Kimble had two goals and Alex Nowlin ’14 had two assists and a goal, respectively. Again, Napleton was impressive in goal, recording 11 saves in 32 minutes of action.

“We need to work on having consistent play throughout the game and being able to stick to our game plan without panicking if we get down a few goals. As captains, Matt and I will make sure the team is physically and mentally ready for highly competitive practices. This will help us deal with staying consistent in games, dealing with adversity and playing hard for four quarters,” said co-captain Brian Barron ’13.

The Bison showed their resilience in their final game of the weekend by defeating Fordham. The Orange and Blue dominated throughout the game, controlling the tempo of play on the offensive end, while shutting down Fordham on the defensive side of the ball. Aleksic tallied a team-high with eight points from four goals and four assists. Joining him were teammates Jack Else ’14 who had four goals, while Kimble and Barron recorded five points each. In goal, Napleton stopped seven shots in 32 minutes.

The Orange and Blue will travel to Cambridge, Mass. this upcoming weekend to compete in the North/South Tournament. The Bison will begin the tournament by facing host-team Harvard, tomorrow morning at 10:30 a.m.

Categories
Soccer Sports Women

Soccer adds two more victories

 

The Bucknellian Archives
Evelyn Nicinski ’15 looks for an opening in the opposition’s defense. Her goal helped lift the Bison over UMBC for their fourth win in a row.

Ajan Caneda
Copy Editor

The women’s soccer team had a solid week, picking up wins against Mount St. Mary’s and UMBC. Goal keeper Sandita McDermott ’13 held down the box and got her fourth shutout of the season. Unfortunately, the Orange and Blue’s win streak ended at four with a loss at Saint Francis (Pa.).

Behind a scoring blitz from Evelyn Nicinski ’15 and Courtney Nelson ’15, the Bison defeated UMBC 3-0 at home on Sept. 7. Three minutes into the game, Hannah Bonotto ’15 nailed a free kick into the box that found Chelsey Garkowski ’14, who headed the ball to Nicinski, which allowed her to score her first goal of the season. Garkowski  also battled for a 50-50 ball that rebounded to Nelson for another Bison goal.

Nelson, who made the transition from defender to forward this year, leads the team with four goals this season.

“It has actually been a pretty big mental transition; my mind has always been focused on stopping people from scoring,” Nelson said. “However, I’ve always been one of those people during practice that likes to shoot and get in on the offense.”

Corey Tipton ’14 capped off the victory with a goal off an assist from Brigit Falcon ’15 and Corinne Collins ’13 in the 69th minute. McDermott broke the Bison record for longest scoreless streak and had six saves for the game.

“I think the quick offense really helped us to seal the deal,” McDermott said. “Having so many great individual performances really has helped this team to keep the ‘team’ mentality moving forward.”

After a three-game shutout streak, the Orange and Blue were met with a potent offense by Saint Francis that defeated the Bison 5-1 on Sept. 9 at Loretto. It was a tough game, as the Red Flash had 22 shot attempts. Saint Francis scored two goals in the 17th and 43rd minute that gave them the 2-0 lead at halftime.

The barrage continued early in the second half with Saint Francis nailing three goals in less than three minutes to put the game away. Danielle Piccirilli ’16 scored the lone goal for the Bison in the 72nd minute.

Two nights later, the Orange and Blue bounced back from the loss to capture a 2-0 victory against Mount St. Mary’s at home.

It was a balanced game for the Bison, as they attempted 17 shots and held the Mountaineers to seven shots. Kayla Yee ’13 scored a goal off of a penalty kick at the three minute mark to get the Bison off to an early lead. Taryn Boucher ’13 stayed aggressive on the offensive end with five shot attempts and scored in the 76th minute to ice the game.

The Bison will travel to Moraga, Calif. to compete in the St. Mary’s Tournament this weekend.

“Each game is a new challenge, and there are only a number of things that we can do. We try to focus on fighting for each other, staying positive and keeping calm,” Nelson said.

Categories
Men Soccer Sports

Men’s soccer earns first win of season

Chris McCree
Sports Editor

The men’s soccer team earned its first wins of the season this weekend, taking down previously unbeaten La Salle and Saint Francis (Pa.). Playing in Philadelphia on Sept. 7, the Bison received second half goals from CK Kumah ’13 and Josh Plump ’13 to carry the team to a 2-1 victory over the Explorers. Two days later, the Orange and Blue shutout a strong St. Francis squad 1-0, bringing their record to 2-1-2 on the season.

“After having three games go into overtime and not coming away with a win, it was crucial for us to win these two games,” Plump said. “The team did a good job following the game plan and getting the results that matter the most.”

Despite being outshot by La Salle 23-16, the Bison were able to come away with the win behind another stellar performance in goal by Mike Lansing ’16. Lansing, who has registered 34 saves in five games this season, recorded nine against the Explorers and did not surrender a goal until the 69th minute.

The game remained goalless until the 57th minute of play, but the Bison were able to get two quick goals within a minute. Kumah’s goal came off of a corner kick set, where the midfielder capitalized on a pass from Brendan Burgdorf ’13. Plump followed this by dribbling past four defenders and beating the keeper. The goals were the first of the season for both players.

“I think we’re really starting to flow as a team,” midfielder Chris Thorsheim ’16 said. “I believe to we need to continue to move the ball and be a possession-oriented team.”

Against Saint Francis, the Bison struck quickly when Josh Butzke ’14 scored his first goal of his career just six minutes into the game. Thorsheim earned his first career assist on the play.

“Finally getting my first goal was a huge relief,” Butzke said. “I always get a hard time from Coach Nash, especially on my shots, so this was a perfect chance to prove myself with a left-footed shot from 26 yards out.”

After a gaining a 10-3 shot advantage, the Bison saw a completely different Red Flash team in the second half. The Saint Francis squad turned the pressure on and held a 12-3 shot advantage in the second. The Orange and Blue relied on Lansing to come up big and he did, recording four of his five saves in the second half to earn his first career shutout. Lansing was later named Patriot League Goalkeeper of the Week.

“The thing that we need to do better is play a full 90 minutes of consistently great soccer,” Butzke said. “We dominated Saint Francis in the first half and then something happened in the second half that just wasn’t right, and we played poor, but fortunately we pulled it out.”

Getting their first wins, the Orange and Blue are confident that they can compete with their Patriot League counterparts as well as on a national scale. The team has two more games this weekend before they begin league play, and it will be important for them to continue to play at a high level.

“People think just because we’re in the Patriot League, we can’t compete with the other big schools,” said Butzke. “I completely disagree and I think we have a Top 25 program here, easily. I don’t want to jinx anything, but I think we are rolling now and I think this group is going to do something this year that has never been done before.”

The Bison play their first regular season home games this weekend against Adelphi tonight and Albany on Sunday.

 

Categories
Sports Volleyball Women

Volleyball struggles at Rose Hill

 

Courtesy of Athletic Communications
Kebah Edoho ’13 goes for the kill. Despite inspiring individual performances, the Bison were winless on the weekend.

Katherine Harris

Writer

The women’s volleyball team had a tough weekend at the Rose Hill Classic at Fordham University, getting ousted by three talented teams for a winless performance.

The Bison traveled to New York on Sept. 7 to face off against Cornell and started out strong with a 2-0 lead in the match, before dropping the final three sets for a 3-2 loss. Several individuals still performed strongly, including Kat Tauscher ’13 with 18 assists and Morgan Mientus ’14 with 16 digs. First-years were also impressive for the Orange and Blue, with Meghan Wentzel ’16 trailing Tauscher in assists with 15, Claire Healy ’16 with 11 kills and Karen Campbell ’16 with eight blocks.

On Sept. 8, the Bison faced off against a tough Fordham squad, and were unable to get into a flow offensively as they lost in three straight sets to the host team. Mientus held up the defensive end for the Bison with 11 digs, but could not halt the assault from the Rams. On offense, Jessica Serrato ’14 and Kebah Edoho ’13 led the way for the Orange and Blue with seven and six kills, respectively, but were unable to match the offensive activity from their opponent.

The Bison came back looking for a win against Stony Brook and pushed their opponents to another five set match, eventually leading to a 3-2 loss. Wentzel and Tauscher led the way in assists with 19 and 18, respectively, giving the two of them 44 and 52 total for the tournament. Mientus also had 27 digs in the match, giving her 54 for the weekend, while Healy followed with 11 digs and nine kills. Healy ended the weekend tied for 23 kills with teammate Serrato.

“Overall, it was a disappointing weekend. We went to five games with two teams that we definitely could have beat in three. Also, Fordham played a very solid game against us, but we should have beat them as well,” Mientus said. “Thank God they will be at our tournament this weekend so we can redeem ourselves. I think the tough losses were a good learning experience and we just need to refocus and regroup in order to win our first home tournament this weekend!”

The Orange and Blue will face off in their first home event of the season as they host the Bucknell Invitational today and tomorrow. Tonight’s match at 7:30 p.m. will be a chance for redemption as the Bison will get the opportunity to play Fordham on their home court.

Categories
Field Hockey Sports Women

Field hockey pulls out two close victories

Edward Louie | The Bucknellian
The field hockey team battles to defend their home turf.

Andrew Arnao
Senior Writer

The Bison field hockey team won their home opener against Lock Haven on Sunday as they defeated the Eagles 3-1. The Orange and the Blue then scored late to push past the Cornell Big Red 2-1 on Wednesday night, bringing their overall record to 3-1.

Against Lock Haven, the Bison got on top in the first half on a goal by forward Rachel Misko ’14, but the Lock Haven returned the favor on a penalty corner to make the score 1-1 going into the half. The Bison offense took control in the second half, and goals from midfielder Amie Pritchard ’15 and Kiersten Sydnor ’16 put the game away.

“I thought that the team played with a lot of control and composure all around the field, which allowed us to create many opportunities in the circle and to capitalize on our offensive penalty corners,” Emily Hitchings ’16 said.  “We were able to transfer the ball quickly and keep possession, helping us to maintain our lead and dominate the second half.”

“After a back and forth first half, the team came out with renewed vigor in the second 35 minutes,” assistant coach Jamie Montgomery said.  “Amie Pritchard knocked home the second goal with real force and the team’s confidence really skyrocketed.”

The penalty corners played a big part in the Bison’s success, with seven total in the game and five in the second half. The Bison also tallied a season high 11 shots on goal, while the defense held Lock Haven to only four shots.

Against Cornell, the Bison fell behind 1-0 but kept up their attack, and eventually went ahead late in the game behinds goals from Kelly Stefanowicz ’13 and Misko. The Orange and Blue offense finished with 26 shots and 19 penalty corners, compared to six shots and three corners for the Big Red.

The Bison will play a road game against Columbia on Saturday and then return home for a Sunday showing against Saint Francis.

Categories
Soccer Sports Women

Bison Athlete of the Week: Sandita McDermott ’13

 

Edward Louie | The Bucknellian

Alex Wagner
Sports Editor

Player Profile

Sandita McDermott ’13

Rhinebeck, N.Y.

International Relations & Economics

Season stats:

Five starts in five games

Two shutouts

17 saves

The women’s soccer team has seen a remarkable early season turnaround. After conceding five goals in two tough losses to open the season, the Bison defense, led by goalie Sandita McDermott ’13 has tightened up to allow only one goal in the past three games. Thanks to the strong defensive effort, the Bison won those last three games against quality opponents.

“Coming off of two losses is difficult, but having the turnaround has really given the defense and the team as a whole a boost of confidence that has allowed us to have success in the past three games,” McDermott said.

In Sunday’s 3-0 victory over St. Bonaventure, McDermott made six saves. This strong individual performance gave her a ninth career shutout, tying her for fourth on the Bison’s all-time list.

“As a goalkeeper, shutouts are the ultimate definition of success … and being able to hold a team for 90 minutes is really relieving and rewarding, and it is made possible through maintaining focus, but more importantly the hard work of the 10 girls in front of me,” McDermott said.

Categories
Sports

Loyola Greyhounds to join Patriot League next year

Eric Brod
Senior Writer

The Bison have received more competition in the Patriot League with the arrival of Loyola (Md.) into the league beginning at the start of the 2013-2014 academic year. With the additions of the Greyhounds and Boston University, the Patriot League will have 10 members beginning in August of next year.

The Greyhounds will be Patriot League participants in 17 sports, including men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s cross country, men’s and women’s soccer and men’s and women’s lacrosse. The Greyhounds will bring further prestige to Patriot League, as they had one of the most successful athletic years in school history. The most prominent story was their men’s lacrosse team capturing the NCAA championship. However, that was far from the only success story for the school. Along with the men, the women’s lacrosse team made it to the quarterfinals of the NCAA tournament, the men’s basketball team made it the NCAA tournament and the men’s golf team earned a spot in the NCAA regional tournament.

The Patriot League, which formed as an all-sport conference in 1990, now has two new members set to join for the first time since American University joined the league in 2001.

In keeping with the Patriot League mission of excelling in both academics and athletics, the Greyhounds reported 100 percent graduation success rates for 11 of its 14 sports, according to the NCAA report released in October 2011.

The addition of Loyola shows that the Patriot League is moving towards new territory in relation to its status in the NCAA. This is certainly an exciting time for Patriot League athletics.