The Bison Field Hockey team faced off against and defeated the Towson Tigers in their home opener of the 2023 fall season this past Friday.
The final score of 7-4 represented the most goals in a single game for Bison Field Hockey in nearly two years. Zoe Carlson-Pietraszek ’25, Hannah Guarente ’25 and Lily Neilson ’25 contributed two goals apiece.
Guarente’s first goal of the game–and the first of her career–came early in the match after Kira Leclercq ’26 crossed the ball to Guarente off a penalty corner just four minutes into the game. Shortly after, Carlson-Pietraszek scored her first career goal and followed it up just two minutes later with another goal off of a penalty corner rebound. The quarter ended with a score of 3-1, as Towson scored off a tip-in with just over a minute left in the first quarter.
Neilson opened up scoring in the second quarter with a u-turn move and shot from the top of the circle. This was the only shot in the second quarter and the half closed with a score of 4-1.
Neilson scored again early in the third quarter for her 33rd career goal, tying for fourth all-time in goals in Bucknell Field Hockey history. She was assisted by Mia Fields ’24 and scored off a penalty corner to bring the total score to 5-1. The Tigers retaliated with a goal of their own a brief 40 seconds later, then scored again after another five minutes to lessen the Bison’s lead to 5-3.
Rachel Apa ’24 stifled the Tigers’ counterattack attempt and scored off a redirect shot to bring the score to 6-3. Towson, unrelenting, scored another goal two minutes later. With about nine minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, Guarente scored her second goal off an assist from Neilson to bring the final score to 7-4 in favor of the Bison.
The Bison women hosted again on Sunday afternoon, this time against the Kent State Golden Flashes. Though a much lower-scoring game, this match ended with a final score of 2-1 packed full of excitement and energy. The game remained scoreless for the first quarter as both teams settled in. Kent State opened up the scoring two minutes into the second quarter off a penalty corner to bring the score to 1-0. Despite many opportunities, the Bison could not manage to get on the board at all in the first half.
The third quarter was relatively calmer, as neither team had a shot on goal save for the last minute. Attempts by Fields and Neilson were both denied by the Kent State keeper. The fourth quarter remained scoreless as well until the Bison capitalized on an opportunity in the last five minutes. Isabella Pavlides ’25 played a ball to Leclercq, who scored after it was set up by Fields to tie up the game.
Shortly after, Gianna Puorro ’26 dribbled through multiple defenders and scored with a powerful shot to put the Bison in the lead for the first time all day. The game ended just a minute later with a final score of 2-1 in favor of the Bison women.
Captain Fields said the following regarding the games: “It was super exciting to have two wins at home! Coming from behind against Kent State really showed our patience and grit on the field. I know we are all looking forward to bringing that same energy into Patriot League play this coming Friday.”
