March 14, 2008

LEWISBURG, Pa. - The Bucknell women's lacrosse team is back in action on Saturday when it travels to Easton, Pa., to take on Patriot League rival Lafayette. The Bison (1-1) dropped their Patriot League opener to preseason-favorite American 16-9 last Saturday at Graham Field. The Leopards are still searching for their first victory of the season. Lafayette is 0-5 after suffering a 17-12 loss to Louisville on Tuesday. In their only league outing thus far, the Leopards fell to Lehigh 22-10.

Series Notes:
• Bucknell is just 3-27 all-time against Lafayette, with all three victories coming in the last four years (one of them was a forfeit win). Bucknell had been 0-26 all-time against the Leopards until a 16-9 victory in 2004.
• Last season at Graham Field, Bonnie Buechel had four goals and three assists to lead the Bison to a 21-11 rout. Chelsea Peters added four goals and two assists, and Sarah Collins tallied three goals and two assists. Bucknell scored 16 goals in the first half and led by at least nine goals for the final 42:18.

Last Outing:
Last Saturday at Graham Field the Bison were tasked with facing the preseason favorite in the Patriot League with only one game under its belt. Bucknell started well, scoring the first two goals of the game, but in the end American had too much firepower, and the Eagles prevailed 16-9 behind four goals from Lauren Lane. Carol Donahue led Bucknell with three goals and an assist, while Chelsea Peters and Paige Kasschau logged two goals and an assist. Sarah Collins handed out three assists. It was a 3-3 game until American scored seven straight goals in the final 12 minutes of the first half to take command. 

Bison Bits:
• Freshman goalie Alyssa DeLorenz finished with 10 saves against the Eagles, and she now has 19 saves with 21 goals against in two games.
• Carol Donohue leads the team with nine points on five goals and four assists. Freshman Julia Braun also has a share of the team lead with five goals, all coming against Long Island in the season opener.
• Sarah Collins leads the team with five assists, and she ranks second in the Patriot League in assists per game.
• With eight in two games, senior defender Lauren Deitrich leads the Patriot League in caused turnovers per game.
• Bonnie Buechel leads the team in draw controls with seven. Deitrich has five, followed by two freshmen in Laura Van Schaack and Ashley St. John with four each.
• St. John has a goal in both games thus far.

Scouting the Leopards:
• Lafayette's five losses have come to Saint Joseph's (11-7), Columbia (19-9), Manhattan (17-13), Lehigh (22-10) and Louisville (17-12).
• Two-time All-Patriot Leaguer Maddy Booth, who led the nation in assists in 2006, has 23 points on 12 goals and 11 assists to lead the team.
• Maria Drehwig (8-1-9) and Kristin Ruminski (7-2-9) are tied for second on the team in scoring. Ruminski leads the team in ground balls (17) and draw controls (18).
• Emily Bjork has started four games in goal for the Leopards and has a .302 save percentage and 16.75 goals-against average. Andrea Corpora started the Columbia game and made five saves with 19 goals allowed.

In the Polls:
• Bucknell was picked tied for fifth (with Navy) in the Patriot League preseason poll. American adged defending champion Holy Cross by just two points in the poll, followed by Colgate, Lehigh, Bucknell/Navy and Lafayette.

Looking Ahead:
• The Bison are back in action at home next Thursday, March 20, taking on Duquesne at Graham Field at 6 p.m. Two days later, Bucknell travels to Holy Cross for another key conference game.