March 7, 2008

LEWISBURG, Pa. -- Spring Break officially begins Friday afternoon at Bucknell, but the Bison men's and women's lacrosse teams will be staying in town for a home doubleheader on Saturday. First, the men host Mount St. Mary's at 1 p.m. at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium, then at 3:30 p.m. at Graham Field the women have a key Patriot League contest against preseason league favorite American.

Admission is free for both games. Bucknell will also be observing National Sportsmanship Day at both venues on Saturday.

The Bucknell men, ranked 15th in this week's USILA Coaches' Poll, goes in search of its third straight victory. The Bison are coming off back-to-back thrilling one-goal wins over Hobart and Ohio State, the latter requiring three overtime periods. The Mount is off to an 0-2 start, but both losses came to nationally ranked teams in Maryland (17-7) and Navy (12-5).

Bucknell is 13-0 against Mount St. Mary's in a series that dates back to 1996. The Bison won 14-2 in Emmitsburg last season behind four goals and two assists from Tim Brandau and 10 saves from Nick Sciubba.

Following his two-goal, four-assist performance against Ohio State last week, Austin Winter has claimed the team scoring lead with 11 points. Tim Brandau and Ryan Klipstein lead the way with five goals each. The Bison will be looking for continued solid play from their special teams. Last week the extra-man unit went 3-for-6 against Ohio State, and the man-down team did not allow a goal.

Meanwhile, with only one game under its belt thus far the Bison women's team makes a quick plunge into Patriot League play on Saturday when preseason league favorite American visits Graham Field.

The Bison routed Long Island 17-5 on Wednesday in Caline McHenry's coaching debut, and now they look to make it two straight against an American team that has dropped 4 of 5 to start the year. The Eagles fell 17-8 to Towson in their most recent outing. American is led by reigning Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year Jackie Lane, who already has nine goals and six assists, and 2007 PL Defensive Player of the Year Caitlin Bell.

Bucknell was the last Division I team to face off in 2008, but it was worth the wait, as eight different Bison scored goals in a 17-5 pasting of Long Island on Wednesday. Freshman Julia Braun led the way with five goals and an assist in her first collegiate game. Alison Heffernan recorded a hat trick, while Bonnie Buechel, Carol Donohue and Sarah Collins scored twice each. Donohue handed out three assists, giving her five points on the day, while Collins added two assists. The Bison defense allowed only five goals on 19 shots, with freshman goalie Alyssa DeLorenz making nine saves in her debut. All-league defender Lauren Deitrich had a team-high four caused turnovers.

For the men's team, this will be the first of three home games this week. Bucknell hosts Fairfield on Tuesday at 3 p.m. and Lafayette next Saturday at 1.

The women's squad heads to Lafayette next Saturday before returning home again on March 20 to face Duquesne.