This past Sunday Oct. 3, the Bison women’s soccer team picked up another huge three points on the road against the Holy Cross Crusaders. The Orange and Blue are now tied for first place at the top of the league with Boston University.  The Bison were really happy to earn a win and a clean sheet, following two tough games against Colgate and Princeton. 

During the first half, the Bison and Crusaders went back and forth, each team earning a number of chances. Hannah Stuck ’24 came off the bench really strong for the Orange and Blue, adding a few quality shots during the first half of play. Claire Mensi ’22 also had a number of good chances off of corner kicks. Despite several close opportunities, neither team was able to convert during the first 45 minutes of play, heading into halftime 0-0. 

Five minutes into the second 45 of play, the Crusaders gave up a penalty kick, following a hand ball in the box. Mensi buried the PK in the bottom right corner, giving the Bison a 1-0 lead in the second half. This is Mensi’s second successful PK of the season. 

A few minutes later in the 60th minute, Rylee Donaldson ’23 collected her team-leading and league-leading seventh goal of the season. Kenar Gelman ’24 sent a through ball down the right flank, which Donaldson ran on to for a clinical finish. 

Forward Kalli Wethern ’25 almost added a third goal on the day, but was called a close offsides after finishing the ball in the net. 

Holy Cross had a number of good chances throughout the second half, but Bison goalkeeper Jenna Hall ’24 and the rest of the defense were rock solid to preserve the shutout. Outside back Leanne Engemann ’23 added a save off the goal line to keep the clean sheet. 

Midfielder Teresa Deda ’25 also had a notable performance on the day, earning herself Patriot League Weekly Honors as Midfielder of the Week. 

“We were really happy with the team’s win on Sunday. Holy Cross came out strong, but we knew what we had to do to get the 3 points at the end of the day. Everyone on the field did their part from our forwards all the way back to our goalkeeper. I was very excited to have contributed to the score sheet this weekend, but I couldn’t have done it without the work of our attackers,”  Mensi said.  She continued that “it was a true collective team win, and it ultimately put us in a great place moving forward into Lafayette this weekend. Being tied for the top seat right now is very rewarding after all the work that we have put in so far, but we have a long way to go before this season is over. I’m really excited for what this team is going to do in the coming weeks. We’re not finished yet.”