Oct. 30, 2010

Final Stats

LEWISBURG, Pa. - Christa Matlack (South Williamsport, Pa./South Williamsport) scored her team-leading seventh goal of the season in the 12th minute of the game and the Bucknell defense took over from there, paving the way to a 1-0 victory over Colgate on Homecoming Saturday at Emmitt Field at Holmes Stadium. With the win, the Bison tied Army for the Patriot League regular-season title, but the Black Knights secured the No. 1 seed and the right to host next week's Patriot League Tournament based on a head-to-head win over Bucknell. The Bison will be the No. 2 seed and play Lehigh in a semifinal game next Friday at West Point.

Bucknell (7-12, 5-2) and Colgate (6-11-1, 3-3-1) came into Saturday's game pretty well sure of their postseason fate. The Bison knew that Army had already clinched the No. 1 seed based on a 1-0 win over Holy Cross on Friday night, and Colgate's spot in the tournament was clinched Friday when Navy lost to American.

Before the contest, Bucknell paid tribute to its seven seniors, who would be playing in their final career home match. One of those seniors, Matlack, put the only goal on the board 11:39 into the contest. After taking a pass from senior Kelliann Doherty (Voorhees, N.J./Eastern Regional), Matlack launched Bucknell's first shot of the day from about 35 yards out. The ball sailed perfectly to the upper right corner of the cage, struck the right post and caromed into the left side netting.

It was Matlack's 32nd career goal, and she now has 78 career points, putting her in sole possession of fifth place on Bucknell's all-time list.

Doherty also moved into the top 10 on Bucknell's career points list with 44. She is tied for 10th place with Amy Riviere and Savannah Rennels.

After the goal, Bucknell's defense held strong for 78 more minutes. Sophomore goalkeeper Sandita McDermott (Rhinebeck, N.Y./Red Hook) made seven saves en route to her third clean sheet of the season. Her toughest save might have been her first of the night, when she had to lunge to her left to snag a hard shot from Jillian Kinter to keep the game scoreless.

Colgate finished with a 12-9 shot advantage. Raiders keeper Alexis Longwell made one save, and Colgate finished with five corner kicks to four for the Bison.

In addition to Matlack and Doherty, seniors Amanda Citron (Marshfield, Mass./Marshfield), Julianne Harris (Glenshaw, Pa./Shaler Area), Kelsey Johnson (Monroe, Conn./Masuk), Caitlin Holtz (Freehold, N.J./Peddie School) and Brooke Stokes (Gladwyne, Pa./Shipley School) all played in their final home games on Saturday. All seven seniors were in the starting lineup.

Next week's other Patriot League Tournament semifinal matchup will pit Army and Colgate. Game times will be announced on Monday.