March 19, 2008

LEWISBURG, Pa. -Fresh off a 20-goal explosion at Lafayette last weekend, the Bison host Duquesne in a non-conference tilt on Thursday at 6 p.m. at Graham Field. Bucknell's 20-11 victory in Easton on Saturday not only gave coach Caline McHenry her first Patriot League win, but it moved the Bison back over .500 at 2-1 on the season. Following this game, the Bison play their next four on the road before returning home on Apr. 1 to face Drexel.

Series Notes:
• Bucknell is 2-3 all-time against Duquesne, including an 11-9 victory last season in Pittsburgh.
• Bucknell's other series win came in the first meeting between the two teams in 1997 (18-2).
• In last year's game, the Bison were outshot 40-24 but prevailed behind 18 saves from goalie Katie Hartsock. Bucknell's Carol Donohue and Duquesne's Sarah Cates both had four-goal games.

Last Outing:
Bucknell improved to 1-1 in Patriot League play with a 20-11 victory at Lafayette on Saturday. The Bison never trailed in the game, but their lead was only 10-9 with 20 minutes to play before an eight-goal outburst broke the game open. Eight different players scored during that 11-minute surge. Carol Donohue had a monster afternoon, logging a career-high nine points on four goals and five assists. Paige Kasschau had a career-high five points with three goals and two assists, and freshman Julia Braun had another big day with three goals and six draw controls. Bucknell has now won four of the last five meetings against Lafayette after starting 0-26 against the Leopards.

Bison Bits:
• Carol Donohue's nine-point afternoon (she was originally credited with eight points, but a scoring change gave her another assist) was tied for the fifth-highest scoring game in school history. Cindy Freishtat also scored nine points in a game against Bloomsburg in 1985. The last Bison to score more than nine was teammate Sarah Collins, who enjoyed a 10-point day against American in 2006. Donohue's five assists were tied for fifth-most in a game in school history.
• Donohue now leads the Patriot League and is tied for second in the nation in points per game (6.00). She is also tied for the league lead and tied for sixth nationally in assists per game (3.00).
• Donohue, Julia Braun and Paige Kasschau all rank in the top 10 in the Patriot League in goal scoring.
• Lauren Deitrich is second in Division I and first in the league in caused turnovers per game (3.00).
• Bucknell has won the draw-control battle 51-34 in three games. The Bison rank third nationally in team draw controls at 17.0 per game.
• The freshman class has combined for 15 goals and three assists thus far.
• Bucknell has outscored foes 30-15 in the second half this season.

Scouting the Dukes:
• Duquesne is just 2-6 but has faced some very tough competition, with losses coming against the likes of Northwestern, Ohio State, Vanderbilt and Notre Dame.
• Most recently, the Dukes won 16-7 at Cincinnati on Sunday, behind four goals from Sarah Carson and two goals and five assists from Kathleen McNish.
• McNish is the team's scoring leader with 28 points, while Janna Faulkner has a team-best 17 goals.

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:
• Bucknell has another critical early season Patriot League test on Saturday against defending champion Holy Cross. Game time is 12 p.m. in Worcester, Mass. The Bison lost at home to the Crusaders, 16-6, a year ago.