April 19, 2003

Box Score

LEWISBURG, Pa. - Suzanne Raffaele tallied four goals and Meredith Wright added three goals and an assist to lead Bucknell to a crucial 12-8 victory over Patriot League rival Villanova Saturday afternoon. The victory, coupled with Colgate's 14-3 win over Lehigh and Holy Cross' 8-6 win over Lafayette, clinches the No. 3 seed in the Patriot League Tournament for the Bison.

Bucknell, now 7-6 overall and 3-3 in Patriot League play, currently stands in third place, a half-game ahead of Lehigh (2-3) and Holy Cross (2-3), who play each other on Monday. The Bison defeated both Lehigh and Holy Cross earlier this season, however, and would win tiebreakers against either of those two teams.

Bucknell will play second-seeded Colgate in one of the Patriot League Tournament semifinal games. American, the No. 1 seed and tournament host, will play the winner of the Lehigh-Holy Cross game.

Villanova (4-9, 1-5) tried valiantly to play the role of spoiler on Saturday, matching the Bison blow-for-blow for nearly 42 minutes. With the game tied at 7-apiece, reserve middie Victoria Field ignited a decisive four-goal Bucknell surge. Field's unassisted tally came with 18:11 remaining, and less than two minutes later Raffaele potted her fourth goal of the day to give the Bison their first two-goal lead of the afternoon.

Amy Lee, off feed from Field, and Wright tacked on a pair of insurance goals to make it 11-7 with 11:09 remaining. The Wildcats kept a breath of life when Cindy Koza scored her fourth goal of the day on a free-position shot with 7:47 left, but Wright's stuff-in with 2:10 to play restored Bucknell's four-goal cushion.

Koza scored three times in succession in a span of just 1:40 to give the Wildcats an early 4-2 lead. Raffaele, who scored Bucknell's first three goals, and Field answered to tie the game at 4-all, and the lead would change hands four more times.

Wright's tally with 6:12 left in the first half put Bucknell ahead 6-5, but Katie Ardington scored with 1:28 remaining to make it a 6-6 draw at intermission.

Amy Hasler drew first blood for the Bison in the second half, but Meghan Carolan quickly answered for Villanova, knotting the game at 7-apiece.

Nicole Kallis, who along with Raffaele was honored before their final collegiate home games, made 12 saves for the Bison, who held a 30-22 shot advantage. Raffaele's hat trick was her sixth of the season. She leads the team with 29 goals.

Bucknell wraps up its regular season with a non-league game at Drexel on Tuesday. The Patriot League Tournament begins Saturday in Washington, D.C.

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