The Bison contested Army for the top seeded slot in the Patriot League on Saturday, as both teams were tied for first. 

This match was the Bucknell Women’s Soccer’s Senior day to celebrate the class and how much they have done to further the program. The seniors on the team are goalkeeper Kaylee Donnelly ’23, midfielders Abby Gearhart ’23 and Ashley Groeber ’23, defender Alivia Handson ’23, forward Rylee Donaldson ’23 and captains Petie Nassetta ’23 and Leanne Engemann ’23. 

The game was very high paced and a hard fought battle all 90 minutes of play. This is the Bison’s fourth consecutive shutout of the season, tallying 390 minutes and 31 seconds of no score for the team. Jenna Hall ’24 made seven saves in the match on Saturday. 

The Army goalkeeper defended five shots on goal including two very good shots from Kenar Gelman ’24 and Teresa Deda ’25. Both teams were defending very hard in the second half and neither gave up goals, leaving the match at 0-0. The Bison outshot Army 14-11 with few quality shot opportunities. 

“I think we played super well,” Nassetta said. “We had a lot of good chances in the first that didn’t go our way. It was a super high intensity game and we were hoping to get a win, but a tie still puts us in a great position for the tournament.” 

With this result, the Bison have clinched a spot in the Patriot League Tournament, sitting fourth in the league. The team will next host Lehigh at Emmitt Varsity Field to compete for higher seeding in the tournament.

If the Bison place in the top two-seeds, they will ensure a bye into the Patriot League semi-finals. Watch the game on ESPN+ and keep up with the live statistics on the Bucknell Athletics webpage.