This past Saturday, Women’s Soccer beat out Holy Cross at Emmitt Field with a header from midfielder Sydney Hess ’26. After a corner kick by Reese Evans ’25 into the center of the box, Hess was able to secure the win for the Bison in the 67th minute.
The Bison’s current record stands at 7-3-2, 3-1 PL. With this win, the Bison have officially surpassed the Crusaders and Boston University for first place in the Patriot League.
Head coach Kelly Cook talked to a Bucknell Bison reporter after the final whistle, saying, “Holy Cross is a tough team to play against, so this was a huge three points against a team that was ahead of us coming into the day. I thought we made some good adjustments to help solve some of their pressure. We got the ball on the ground and were able to build some chances, and then we scored a great set-piece goal with a perfect delivery from Reese and a strong finish by Sydney. It was even better to get the win on senior day, as this group of nine seniors has had such an incredible impact on our program.”
Although Holy Cross is an all-around skilled team, the Bison had most of the scoring chances throughout. After an unsuccessful first half, the Bison were fired up by their frustration. Evans had a free kick, a shot on goal saved by the Holy Cross goalie and a shot just over the crossbar in the 34th minute.
Going into the second half, the Bison were ready for a fight. Teresa Deda ’25 was close to assisting Kelley Francis ’25 in a shot on goal, but Francis just missed. The Holy Cross goalie made her best save of the game off a shot by Katie Connell ’28.
Finally, Evans assisted Hess in the game-winning header, the first goal of the season for Hess and the second in her career, as well as the third assist by Evans of the season.
The game stayed close throughout the rest of the second half with a close shot on goal, a number of services in the box and a just-missed free kick with only 50 seconds left in the game. Goalie Jess Benattar ’26 finished the contest with three saves, securing her fourth solo shutout of the 2024 season.
Bucknell’s current record is 25-6-3, and their next game is at Navy this Friday, Oct. 11 at 7 p.m.
