After spending the previous weekend at home, the Bison Field Hockey Team traveled to New England to begin Patriot League play. The Orange and Blue secured their first league-win on Sept 17. against Holy Cross, followed by a shootout loss to Providence College on Sept. 18. 

The Bison came out hungry against the Holy Cross Crusaders, getting on the board in the first minute of the game off of a Kari Melberger ’24 goal. Just ninety-two seconds later, Noor Kaur ’23 netted the Bison’s second goal, securing the lead. Both goals were results of penalty corners, which the Bison have capitalized on multiple times so far this season.

The Orange and Blue entered half time leading 2-0, and after returning to the pitch, continued to fight. With under five minutes left in the third quarter, rookie Gianna Puorro ’26 scored her second goal of the season to secure the Bison victory. The Crusaders were eventually able to get on the board in the fourth quarter, but this was not enough to outscore the Bison. The Orange and Blue left Holy Cross with a 3-1 victory, starting Patriot League play at 1-0.

The Bison made their way to Rhode Island on Sunday to face off against the Providence College Friars. Both teams fought hard throughout regulation, overtime, and even a shootout, but the Friars narrowly took the lead. The first half was very defense-heavy, with both teams keeping each other off of the scoreboard.

It was not until two minutes into the third quarter that the Friars capitalized on a penalty corner. The Bison were relentless, however, and continued to press in the attack. Less than three minutes into the fourth quarter, Lily Neilson ’25 slotted the ball from the top of the circle, evening the score. The match soon entered overtime, where the Bison outshot the Friars 7-5. Even so, the game went into a shootout where the Friars came out on top.

Despite the tough loss to end the weekend, Tallulah Fuhs ’25 acknowledged how happy the team is with the way they competed. “We seem to be mending together and starting to work like a unit to dominate other teams. The team atmosphere is full of motivating and uplifting spirits,” Fuhs said. 

The Bison will return to Lewisburg this coming weekend, facing Patriot-League opponent Lafayette on Sept. 23 at 7 p.m. followed by Drexel on Sept. 25 at 12 p.m.