Category: Women

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Field Hockey Sports Women

Field Hockey wins PL home opener

Andrew Arnao
Senior Writer

The field hockey team dominated its Patriot League home opener against the Colgate Raiders with a 7-0 blowout last Saturday, but suffered a 4-3 defeat from Rutgers in an away game on Sunday. Bolstered by her two goals and strong defense this weekend, midfielder Kayla Sullivan ’16 won the Patriot League Rookie of the Week award.

“It was exciting to come off the field with another shutout this season, especially against a league rival,” forward Kiersten Sydnor ’16 said. “We were able to execute on our attacking half by finding the ball in the circle and getting it into the goal. We also did exceptionally well with our execution on our corners.”

The Bison (6-6) got on the board early against Colgate, scoring two goals in the first 10 minutes behind shots from forwards Rachel Misko ’14 and Leigh Hillman ’14. Hillman added another goal to give the Orange and the Blue a 3-0 lead at halftime. Second-half goals from midfielder Kelly Stefanowicz ’13, Sydnor and Sullivan allowed the Bison to put the game out of reach for their opponents.

Against Rutgers, the Bison fell behind 2-0 after failing to score in the first half. In the opening minutes of the second half, Hillman and Sullivan each scored, making it 2-2. The Scarlet Knights scored again to go ahead, but a clutch goal from defender Tayler Siegrist ’13 with less than two minutes remaining tied the score at 3-3, forcing overtime.

Rutgers then scored less than two minutes into overtime, marking the first Bison overtime loss this year. The defeat snapped a streak of seven consecutive overtime victories which started back in September 2010.

“We had a slow first half, down 2-0 at half time, but at the start of the second half we came out strong,” Sydnor said. “We scored within two minutes of the half and you could see the tempo of our game was where we needed to be in order to beat this team. Unfortunately we fell short in overtime, but it definitely shows us that we need to play the whole game like we did in the second half if we want to win next time.”

Next up for the Bison will be a trip to Massachusetts to face off against Patriot League rival Holy Cross tomorrow at 1 p.m., followed by a matchup against Harvard on Sunday at 2 p.m.

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Cross Country Cross Country Men Sports Women

Cross country dominates at St. Francis

Alex Wagner
Sports Editor

In addition to winning the team titles at the Father Bede Invite, the men’s and women’s cross country teams had D.J. Krystek ’13 and Deanna Godby ’16 win their first individual titles for the Orange and Blue. The tournament in Loretto, Pa. over the weekend allowed the Bison to showcase their strong running against Saint Francis and their alumni.

On the men’s side, Krystek finished the seven-kilometer course first with a time of 24:18.1. His first career victory was not an easy one, as teammates John Dugan ’15 and Andrew Garcia-Garrison ’15 each finished less than one second later than Krystek with times of 24:18.4 and 24:18.9, respectively.

The Bison also took the next two top spots, with Michael McGowan ’15 and Charles Seigneur ’13 finishing in fourth (24:19.0) and fifth (24:19.2), respectively. Following them, the next nine finishers were Bison runners.

Behind these strong individual performances, the Bison took the invite’s top spot with 15 points, while Saint Francis finished with 52 points and the Saint Francis Alumni with 74.

For the women, Godby was the first to complete the 5K course, finishing in 19:41.5. Once again, more Bison were close behind, as Caroline Tolli ’13 finished in second with a time of 19:43.0 and Katie Jessee ’15 in third with 19:44.4. That finish marked the third time in the team’s three meets that Tolli and Jessee have finished in the top three.

“The course at Saint Francis is very tough and hilly, so we really emphasized running as a pack during the race. Running with teammates helped us stay focused and maintain our pace through the hard parts of the course,” Tolli said. “The Invite was excellent preparation for our Patriot League championship meet at Colgate, another hilly course.”

Meghan Carroll ’16 (19:55.2) and Beth Braunegg ’14 (19:55.4) rounded out the top finishers for the Bison, coming in fourth and fifth place, respectively.

The Bison, who had 14 of the first 15 runners, finished the invite with 15 points, ahead of Saint Francis’ 50 points.

The Orange and Blue runners will split up for their next competitions on Oct. 13, heading to the Pre-National Invitational in Louisville, Ky. or the Gettysburg Invitational, both of which will be the athletes’ last races before the Patriot League Championships. 

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Golf Sports Women

Women’s golf excels at Nittany Lion Inv.

Katherine Harris
Writer

The women’s golf team performed strongly at the Nittany Lion Invitational last weekend, getting better each day with scores of 326, 316, and 311 in the three rounds for a 16th place finish out of a very competitive field.

“The team got off to a rough start this weekend, but we progressively got better as the tournament went on. We are a very young team and still have a lot to learn,” Bridget Wilcox ’14 said. “I was happy to have another consistent tournament but I still have room to improve and will be working hard this week and next to gear up for the MAC Preview.”

The Bison started off the three day tournament with a team score of 326 last Friday. The format for the tournament had six girls play and the top four scores count on each day. Wilcox and Meghan Garanich ’16 led the team with a 79 and an 80, respectively. The counted scores for the day were rounded out by Lauren Bernard ’14 with an 83 and Lexi Klein ’15 with an 84.

Saturday went well for the Orange and Blue as the team improved their overall score, moving them into 15th place in the tournament. Kasha Scott ’14 led the team on the day with one of only seven sub-par rounds out of 103 players with her 1-under-par 71. Anchoring the rest of the team’s scores were Wilcox with her second straight 79, Bernard with an 81 and Jen Lee ’16 with an 85.

“I was very excited with the way I played on Saturday; it was really fun to be hitting the ball well, but I need to work on my consistency. I’m excited to see what our next tournament in Ohio holds for us, as I think the team has the potential of going really low,” Scott said.

The Bison finished out the tournament strong by improving their score again to 311 on Sunday, placing them in 16th place with a total score of 953 for the weekend. Bernard finished her tournament strong with a 73 and Wilcox stayed consistent with a 78. Garanich and Lee rounded out the scores for the team with an 80 and 81, respectively.

The team will now prepare for their next tournament, the MAC Preview, on Oct. 15 and 16 in Ohio.

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Sports Volleyball Women

Volleyball drops to Army and Holy Cross in PL play

Katherine Harris
Writer

The women’s volleyball team had a tough weekend, dropping matches to both Army and Holy Cross on Sept. 28 and 29, respectively.

“This weekend started off great. We really put up a fight against Army and in the second set against them we had them against the ropes,” Morgan Mientus ’14 said. “We could’ve taken the set, but overall our performance against them was strong.”

The Bison started out strong at West Point, but ended up losing in three sets to a talented Army squad that is 3-1 in conference play. Many individuals stepped up in the match, including Mientus and Leylin Marroquin ’14 on defense with 12 and 10 digs, respectively.

On offense, senior captains Kebah Edoho ’13 and Kat Tauscher ’13 led the way, with Edoho putting up nine kills and two blocks, and Tauscher posting an impressive 30 assists. Claire Healy ’16 and Jessica Serrato ’14 also had strong contributions, with Healy adding two blocks and seven kills and Serrato adding eight kills.

“While there were definitely glimpses of us showing a lot of heart and improvement, we were overall frustrated by our performance. But our captains, Kat [Tauscher] and Kebah [Edoho], have done an amazing job this week with keeping us motivated and playing for each other, something we’ve lost touch of recently,” Katie Price ’16 said.

The Orange and Blue then made their way to Worcester, Mass. on Saturday afternoon to face Holy Cross. While the team rallied to win the third set, they were not able to defeat the Crusaders in the final, losing 3-1 overall. Tauscher stepped up again, this time recording a double-double with a season-high 41 assists, as well as 10 digs.

First-year teammates also performed strongly on the day. Healy led the Orange and Blue in kills and digs, with 14 and 18, respectively, to post her third double-double of the season. Price also posted a career high 15 digs on the day.

“Our main goal is to win a Patriot League Championship, and in preparation for the rest of the season, we are reassessing why we play the game and why we love it so much,” Mientus said. “From now on we are playing for our amazing seniors and leaving it all on the court like we have nothing to lose.”

This weekend, the Bison will travel to California to take on CSU Bakersfield on Oct. 7, and then face off against Pepperdine on Oct. 8 in Malibu, Calif.

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Golf Sports Women

Women’s golf struggles in Michigan

Lauren Boone

Contributing Writer

The women’s golf team traveled to Ann Arbor, Mich. last weekend to compete in the University of Michigan’s Wolverine Invitational, where it struggled in unfavorable weather conditions. In addition, the 54-hole competition was held on one of the toughest courses on which the Bison will compete this year. The lineup consisted of Lauren Bernard ’14, Kasha Scott ’14, Bridget Wilcox ’14, Lexi Klein ’15 and Jen Lee ’16. 

The inclement weather caused the Bison to struggle early on. The Orange and Blue shot 340 in the first round and 328 in the second round. Their team score of 668 left the Bison in 12th place at the end of Saturday’s rounds.

Individually, Wilcox led the Orange and Blue with rounds of 79 and 81. She finished Saturday in 21st place. Scott shot a first round of 88 but was able to lower her score to 80 in the second round. Bernard performed better in her second round as well, improving from 86 to 81. Klein bettered her first round of 87 to a score of 86 in the second round, and Lee improved from 94 to 91.

Michigan finished Saturday in first with a 616 (308-308) over Florida International by one stroke.

In the individual rankings, FIU’s Meghan MacLaren finished in first on Saturday with a total score of 148, followed by Lauren Grogan of Michigan with a total of 149.

After Sunday’s round, the Bison scored a 336 for a final tournament score of 1004, and a 14th place finish. Scott led the Bison on Sunday, after shooting an 80. Wilcox posted an 83, leading to a Bison best 33rd place finish. Bernard shot an 86, followed by Klein with an 87.  Lee closed the tournament with a score of 93.

At the end of competition, Michigan and Florida International tied for first place with total scores of 930.

“The Wolverine Invitational was definitely a test of the team’s mental game and shot accuracy. It was freezing, it rained heavily and the course is probably the hardest we will encounter all year–at one point it even hailed!” Wilcox said. “Even with that said, we did not perform as well as we expected. This tournament was definitely a wake-up call and we will continue to work hard throughout the season to get to where we need to be for the Patriot League Championship in April.”

This weekend, the Bison will play at the Nittany Lion Invitational in State College.

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Field Hockey Sports Women

Field hockey loses two close games

 

Wilson Hunt | The Bucknellian
Kelly Stefanowicz ’13 moves the ball upfield. The Bison had two very strong showings in their losses.

Andrew Arnao

Senior Writer

The Bison field hockey team fell at home against the No. 17 Michigan Wolverines by a score of 2-0, and also succumbed to a late rally by the Temple Owls in a 5-4 defeat. The Orange and the Blue are now 5-5 in the season.

“We were very happy with the level we are playing, just unhappy with the results,” head coach Jeremy Cook said. “Michigan and Temple beat us last year 5-0 and 4-0, respectively, and this year both games were quite competitive, which we feel shows real progress.”

The Bison defense stifled a tough Michigan offense for 20 minutes before the Wolverines scored their first goal of the game. Despite being behind, the defense continued to repel Michigan, allowing only one more goal in the second half. The Bison offense showed improvement through the second half but were unable to break through in the eventual 2-0 setback.

“Although we lost to Michigan, the game as a whole was a positive one,” midfielder/forward Emily Hitchings ’16 said. “We were able to compete with such a high caliber team. We were able to hold them to only receiving one offensive corner, which was a huge plus.”

Against Temple, the Bison fell behind early in the first half, but battled back and went ahead 3-1 on goals from defender Tayler Siegrist ’13, midfielder Kelly Stefanowicz ’13 and Hitchings. The Owls managed to tie the score in the second half, and despite another goal by Siegrist, Temple scored two more to escape with a 5-4 victory against the Bison.

“The Temple game was a tough loss,” Hitchings said. “We had some dangerous turnovers that affected the outcome of the game. On a positive note, we were able to capitalize in the goal scoring circle, and we scored on three of our penalty corners.”

“The Temple game was very exciting. We ended up going back and forth with them in the second half more than we wanted to, which plays into their strength as a team and exposes a few of our shortcomings,” Cook said.

The Bison will begin Patriot League play with a home game against Colgate tomorrow at 11 a.m. On Sunday, they will head to New Jersey to face Rutgers.

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Tennis Women

Women’s tennis solid at home

 

Chloe Chou | The Bucknellian
Maria Cioffi ’16 and Elena Vidrascu ’14 show their strong team dynamic. They have been a strong doubles team in every competition this season.

Ajan Caneda
Copy Editor

At the Bucknell Invitational last weekend, the women’s tennis team had a solid tournament, taking home the singles crown, the first tournament title of the season for Elena Vidrascu ’14, while Jen Bush ’15 and Stephanie Pino ’16 were runners-up in the doubles final. Colgate, Mount St. Mary’s, Villanova and Bloomsburg joined the Orange and Blue in the three-day tournament.

“This was with no doubt the best tournament weekend I’ve had since coming to Bucknell. I played my usual game this weekend, but the key to my success was that I played the sort of game that my opponents don’t like,” Vidrascu said.

On the first day of action, five Bison players won their first round singles matches, including Lydia Colvin ’15 who defeated Aida Diop from Bloomsburg, 6-1, 6-1, and Maria Cioffi ’16 who won, 6-2, 6-2, against Bloomsburg’s Michelle Perez. Vidrascu, Bush and Pino also picked up first-round victories.

In doubles action, Colvin and Alyssa McAndrew ’15 lost a hard-fought match against Tori Smyth and Allison Kruse from Villanova (8-6), while Bush and Pino dominated Colgate’s Alex Petrini and Jennifer Ho 8-1. The Orange and Blue also picked up consolation victories as Christie Schneider ’15 and Elizabeth Morgan ’14 defeated Bison teammates Claudia Silvers ’15 and Sam Madnick ’16 8-4, while Cioffi and Vidrascu beat a Bloomsburg pair 8-3.

The Orange and Blue continued their success on the second day of the tournament, as Vidrascu and Cioffi moved on to the singles semifinals. Vidrascu was successful in her semi-final match, defeating Mikelle Mancini of Villanova 6-3, 6-2. Unfortunately, Cioffi lost to Villanova’s Tori Smyth 6-2, 6-0.

Bush and Pino advanced to the doubles final with a win over Mount St. Mary’s Carly Landini and Liz Rossi (8-4).

“This was only the second time Jen [Bush] and I have played doubles together and I feel that with each match we are playing better as a doubles team. Our style of play suits each other and we work well together on the court,” Pino said.

On the final day of the tournament, the Orange and Blue appeared in both finals and consolation matches. After dropping the first set 6-1, Vidrascu bounced back to win the second set 6-4 and the eventual tiebreaker 10-8, as she secured the singles title. She and Cioffi also picked up a doubles win against teammates Morgan and Schneider.

“In my final match of the tournament, I lost the first set 6-1 pretty quickly. I remembered how I played against the previous two girls in the tournament and started to do the exact same thing, and it worked,” Visdrascu said. “This win has boosted my confidence tremendously, because I have finally realized the game that I need to play against all types of players.”

The Bison look to continue their strong play as they travel to Philadelphia for the Saint Joseph’s Invitational this weekend.

“Going into the St. Joe’s tournament this coming weekend I will focus on playing well, going for my shots and working on strategy and play,” Pino said.

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Soccer Sports Women

Women’s soccer wins blowout

 

Wilson Hunt | The Bucknellian
Chelsey Garkowski ’14 takes a shot. She scored four goals against Canisius, which ties a program record.

Ajan Caneda

Copy Editor

Forward Chelsey Garkowski ’14 scored four goals that powered the women’s soccer team to a 5-0 victory against Canisius on Sept. 21. Garkowski is the third Bison player in program history to have a four-goal performance and she is one of four players in Division I soccer this season to score four goals. The win marked the Orange and Blue’s largest shutout of the season.

“Chelsey is a great player. She works hard and fights for every ball. She deserved that game and all those goals,” forward Cassie Denger ’15 said.

In a half that featured 21 Bison shot attempts, Garkowski showcased her powerful offense. The Bison got off to another quick start, as Taryn Boucher ’13 delivered a pass up the right wing to Garkowski for the first goal in the seventh minute. Despite 10 saves by the Golden Griffins, the Bison attack was too much to handle, as Bridget Gilmartin ’14 dished an assist to Garkowski for another goal in the 16th minute. Garkowski nailed her third straight goal off an assist from Courtney Nelson ’15 to bring the score to 3-0 at the half.

“We played really well on Friday, and on offense we had great combinations and were able to find the back of the net,” forward Kayla Yee ’13 said. “Chelsey had an amazing game with four incredible goals, and our defense was solid and kept them off the scoreboard.”

Nelson picked up right where she left off in the second half, launching a cross-pass to Yee, which led to the fourth Bison goal in the 56th minute. Garkowski, who had eight shot attempts, capped off an incredible performance as Nelson had her third assist in the game on a chip pass to Garkowski, who found the back of the net in the 62nd minute.

“Our team worked together to win the ball and give our forwards the opportunity to go towards goal. We are so ready to start league play and show everyone in the Patriot League what we are all about,” Denger said.

It was an offensive driven game as the Orange and Blue outshot Canisius 29-20, but the Bison defense prevented the Golden Griffins from finding the net. Goalie Sandita McDermott ’13 secured her fifth shutout of the season with six saves in 68 minutes of action. Jessie Ashworth ’16 finished out the game with a save of her own. Head coach Ben Landis played all 22 field players in the win.

The Bison start Patriot League play at home against Colgate tomorrow afternoon at 2 p.m. The Orange and Blue will also travel to Penn State on Oct. 2 to face the Nittany Lions at 7 p.m.

“Overall, we are playing great soccer and I still think we can be even better. I know we are all excited for Patriot League play and to start with a win against Colgate,” Yee said.

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Sports Volleyball Women

Volleyball loses two

Katherine Harris

Writer

Last weekend, the women’s volleyball team started its Patriot League season on the road, falling to both Lafayette and Lehigh.

The Bison traveled to Lafayette on Sept. 21 to face off against the Leopards in their Patriot League season opener. While the team lot in four sets, many individuals still had powerful performances on the night. Defense was strong for the Orange and Blue, with Karen Campbell ’16 racking up six blocks, while Kebah Edoho ’13 and Amanda Hall ’15 had five each.

Morgan Mientus ’14 and Claire Healy ’16 put up 24 and 10 digs for the Bison, respectively, while teammate Kat Tauscher ’13 contributed a career-high 12 to go along with 21 assists. Right behind her on offense was Meghan Wentzel ’16 who recorded 17 assists that day.

“We didn’t start out playing strong on Friday,” Healy said. “Our mentality going into the game against Lafayette was that we had it in the bag, but we learned the hard way that we should never go into a match too comfortable.”

The next day was a quick turnaround for the Orange and Blue as they traveled to Lehigh for a match the next afternoon. While the squad posted a strong offensive performance to win the first set, it could not duplicate the effort for the rest of the game, losing 3-1.

Once again, defense was strong for the Bison, with Jessica Serrato ’14, Edoho and Campbell each recording five blocks. Edoho also put up 10 kills on the day, keeping her streak of solid performances intact. Teammates Mientus and Tauscher were also consistent, earning 16 digs and 25 assists, respectively.

“This weekend we got off to a slow start against Lafayette. We unfortunately could not put our preparation into action and didn’t play at our level. However, by the start of our game against Lehigh on Saturday, our team had a whole new mentality which showed in the first three sets of the match,” Serrato said. “While we didn’t pull out the win, we left with a sense of what we are capable of in terms of both physical ability and team dynamics going forward in the league.”

The Bison will regroup and prepare to face their next Patriot League opponent, Army, as they travel to West Point, N.Y. for their match tonight at 7 p.m.

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Field Hockey Sports Women

Field hockey breaks even

 

The Bucknellian Archives
Tayler Siegrist ’13 moves the ball away from pressure. Her goals on Saturday helped the Bison in their victory against Towson.

Andrew Arnao

Senior writer

In two home games, the field hockey team defeated Towson on Sept. 15, shutting out the Tigers 6-0, and fell to Ohio State 3-1 the next day. Forward Kiersten Sydnor ’16 earned her third Patriot League Rookie of the Week award, while goalie Erica Perrine ’14 snagged the Patriot League Goalkeeper of the Week award for the second time this season.

“After stumbling a bit against Columbia and St. Francis (Pa.) last weekend, the team’s mindset going into this weekend was to get back into the rhythm we had at the beginning of the year,” Perrine said. “We established a theme of being ‘relentless’ and to never stop fighting for every ball, regardless of whether or not we were winning or losing.”

The defense did just that in the first half against Towson, not allowing a single shot on goal. The Orange and the Blue had 10 shots in the first half, and broke out for five of their six goals in the second half, led by two goals apiece from Sydnor and defender Tayler Siegrist ’13. Perrine finished with two saves and her third career shutout.

“Saturday’s game against Towson was an exciting one, especially because it was our first shutout,” Sydnor said. “Our defense was exceptionally strong, as was our offense. We were able to capitalize on our offensive corners on Saturday, which I think accounted for half of our goals.”

The same offensive breakout proved difficult against Ohio State, as the Bison were unable to score until Siegrist knocked in a penalty stroke with only 13 seconds remaining. Ohio State eventually triumphed, but there was controversy over whether the third Buckeye goal crossed the goal line. The defense put up an impressive display once again, led by Perrine and her season-high 13 saves.

“We were extremely excited to play a Big Ten team, but along with that excitement came nerves in the very first few minutes of the game,” Siegrist said. “Once we realized that we were just as good as them though, things turned around.”

“Unfortunately, I think there were a couple of bad calls that went in Ohio State’s favor and a couple of key moments that we failed to capitalize on that could have been game changers. Throughout the entire game, the team never gave up,” Perrine said. “Ohio State was a bit more challenging, but choosing to battle rather than accepting defeat was our mindset, and we were able to hold them off for much of the game, generating our own shots and goal-scoring opportunities.”

The Bison (5-3) return to action this weekend with two home games against nationally ranked Michigan tomorrow at noon, and Temple on Sept. 23 at 2 p.m.