Bucknell Women’s Lacrosse hosted Patriot League opponent Lehigh University (7-4, 2-3) this past Saturday afternoon at a warm but windy Graham field. 

There were great statistics seen across the board for the Bison. Bucknell’s Emily Baird ’24 scored four goals as a top team scorer, followed by a season-high goal total of three by Caroline Miller ’23. Aliza Thir ’25 and Katie Browne ’26 added two points apiece. 

On the defensive end, Ella Payer ’23 scooped up seven ground balls (one shy of the Bucknell single-game record), six draw controls and four caused turnovers. 

As the weather took a turn for the worse, the game started out in favor of the Mountain Hawks that scored three in the first six minutes of the first half. A group of four provided 14 of 17 goals for Lehigh who held the ball for a lengthy period of the game thanks to a 22-12 edge in draw controls. 

Down 5-1, back-to-back goals from Brown and Thir narrowed their deficit to two, but the Bison did not manage to come closer in the remainder of the game. 

With 5:40 to play, the Bison creeped within three at 14-11 with a goal by Alex Nesbitt ’26 from the eight-meter arc. 

Following this, Bucknell gained possession, but the ball turned over, and Lehigh continued to score three in a row, totaling the score to 17-11. 

Lehigh’s goalie made eight saves, while Bucknell’s Symone Ryans ’23 stopped seven Mountain Hawk shots. 

Baird had a stellar performance scoring four-goals for the third time this season, which leveled her to the 20-goal mark for the first time in her career. 

The Bison extended its school record to 10 straight games scoring 10 or more goals. “Lehigh’s always been a strong team and they’re consistently towards the top of the conference,” Jamie Tsao ’23 said. “I think our team has definitely grown from last season, and, even from the beginning of this season, we’ve shown that in our performances. Unfortunately, Lehigh came out really strong and we weren’t able to adjust until the second half. We were playing catch up from the start and ran out of time at the end. Our second half was strong, and the game was close, but the first quarter just hurt us. The opportunities were there, but just too late to come back from being down so early.” Keep your eyes peeled for the Bison, as they bring out their horns against nationally ranked Army West Point next Saturday.