Last Friday night, the Bison faced Lehigh in a crucial matchup to keep their chances in the Patriot League Tournament alive. The Orange and Blue played under the lights in front of a loud crowd as they defeated the Mountain Hawks 5-0.
Right off the bat, the Bison put the pressure on Lehigh’s defense. Lily Neilson ’25 put up her first goal of the game only two minutes in. Hannah Guarente ’25 took the penalty corner and found Mia Fields ’24 who found Neilson. She then handled the ball through the defense and fired the shot in.
Four minutes after Neilson’s first goal, Gianna Puorro ’26 stepped up to the plate. She stepped in to collect a loose ball and sent it through the circle and found Rachel Apa ’24. Apa’s shot found the top right corner of the goal.
The second quarter saw slightly less action on both ends. The Bison outshot Lehigh 4-3, but neither team managed to score. Their next goal would come in the third period. Apa put heavy pressure on Lehigh’s defense and managed to deflect a pass. The ball found Neilson, who—once again—smashed the ball past the goalie and into the cage for the team’s third goal of the game.
Lehigh made their attempts to put the pressure back on the Bison in the final quarter of the game. The Mountain Hawks managed to get five penalty corners but did not have any luck. They took their last shot attempt, which was followed by yet another Bison goal. Hope Davis ’25 found Neilson at the top of the circle. Neilson went around a defender and then shot, scoring her third goal of the game, marking her third hat trick of her career.
Not too long after, the Bison added their last goal of the game. On a penalty corner, Nicky Punt ’25 passed the ball to Puorro, who set the ball down. Kira Leclercq ’26 fired through defenders to put the ball in the cage.
Neilson now has 11 goals in the season and 40 in her entire career.
The Bison stood strong for the remaining minutes of the game, despite Lehigh coming up close with three penalty corners and shots. The Bison’s win was crucial for further Patriot League play.
The Bison will pick back up against Colgate this Saturday at home at 11 a.m.
