The Bucknell University Bison (3-10) snapped the AU women’s soccer team’s three-game win streak with a 3-0 victory Saturday.
The shutout marked the seventh time the Eagles have been blanked this season. This time around, Bucknell’s goalkeeper Sandita McDermott was the culprit behind AU’s lack of goals.
The Bison scored their first goal in the 24th minute. Caitlin Holtz was able to put the match’s first goal in off of a corner kick. The one goal would be all the Bison would have in the first half of the match.
The next score would come in the 62nd minute in the second half, as Bucknell’s Kelsey Johnson put the ball in the net after a free kick. It was her first goal of the season for Bucknell.
Kelliann Doherty would score the Bison’s final goal of the match with only seven minutes left in play. The goal just added on to a defeat where, according to AU’s head coach Dave Bucciero, the defense wasn’t at the top of their game.
“I thought we lost the game today because we did not defend set pieces well, which resulted in their first two goals,” Bucciero told AU Athletics. “We did not come out strong enough in the first 25 minutes, and that put us in a hole. We played much better in the second half, but weren’t able to overcome our mistakes.”
Despite being outscored, AU had a consistent attack as they outshot Bucknell 14-10. They also had five shots on goal, compared to Bucknell’s four.
On offense the Eagles were lead by Kendra Jones, who had a game-high four shots. Patricia Bailey and Carleigh Morba each had three shots for the Eagles.
While Bucknell’s goalie was able to keep the Eagles’ offense at bay, AU had some trouble against their opponent. Starting goalie Arianna Efstathiou played the first 61 minutes of the match and allowed two of Bucknell’s goals. Efstathiou was later replaced by Lindsey Farthing, who finished out the game allowing one goal.
The game was both teams’ first Patriot League match of the season. The Eagles will play the rest of their schedule against Patriot League teams after a home match against Princeton University on Monday.
AU will play their next two Patriot League matches on the road against The College of the Holy Cross and then the United States Military Academy before returning home to take on Colgate University on Sunday, Oct. 17.
slindauer@theeagleonline.com
