The Bison women’s soccer team continued Patriot League play with matches against Boston University and Lehigh on Sept. 28 and Oct. 2, respectively.  The Bison are now 2-1 in League play after shutting out the Terriers for a 1-0 victory and a 3-1 defeat against the Mountain Hawks. 

After beating Lafayette 2-1 in their conference opener, the Orange and Blue hosted Boston on Sept. 28.  The Terriers had been equally successful in their first League match of the season with a 4-1 win over American, and sought to tally their fifth consecutive win.

The Bison started the game with strong offensive pressure building to two close chances from Chloe Christakos ’21 off a corner kick. Meanwhile, the defensive line held the Terriers to zero goals after having scored in five consecutive games.

The winning goal came just two minutes before the halftime whistle, when Annabelle Heisel ’23 chipped the ball over a Boston defender to the right side of the penalty area to Emilene Parham ’22. After a brief collision with the Terriers’ goaltender, Parham was back on her feet to send the rebound to the back of the net.

A scoreless second half saw the Bison’s undeniable domination on both sides of the field.  Rylee Donaldson ’23 forced a save with a hard, low shot from the box of the box. Heisel came close to tallying a goal of her own five minutes later, but was blocked by Boston’s goaltender.  The defensive line allowed just three off-target shots after a save from Kaylee Donnelly ’23 in the 59th minute. The no-goal game for Boston resulted in a 1-0 win for the Bison, marking their first shutout since October 2018.

Just a few days later on Oct. 2, the Bison traveled to Lehigh for another Patriot League game. The Bison competed hard, but came away on the wrong end of a 3-1 scoreline. Rylee Donaldson scored her first collegiate goal for the Orange and Blue to give them a 1-0 lead in the 62 minute off a feed from Holly Burns ’22. Unfortunately, the Bison were unable to keep the lead as Lehigh scored 3 straight goals to win the match.

The women’s soccer team will be back in action on Oct. 5 when they face Army on Emmitt Field.