Colgate Women's Lax Looks to Defend Patriot League Tournament Crown
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Heather Bliss leads Colgate into the Patriot League Tournament
4/22/2009 4:23:20 PM
HAMILTON, N.Y. (4/22/09)– The Colgate women’s lacrosse team will attempt to win its fourth tournament crown this decade as the Patriot League Tournament gets underway Friday at Tyler’s Field.
This will mark the third time the Raiders have hosted the tournament. Colgate won the 2004 and 2005 tournaments at Tyler’s Field and advanced to the NCAA Tournaments those years.
The Raiders, 12-4 overall, enter the weekend as the top seed in the tournament following posting a 5-1 record during league play. Colgate will open with fourth seeded Bucknell (9-7, 4-2) on Friday evening at 5 p.m. The clash with the Bison follows the matchup between second seed Lehigh (11-5, 4-2) and third seed Navy (12-4, 4-2), which begins at 2 p.m. The weekend will conclude Sunday afternoon with the title game, which is scheduled for a 1 p.m. start. The winner of this year’s tournament won’t have to participate in the NCAA play-in game and will directly advance to the tournament that starts May 10.
Colgate, the defending champion, enters the Patriot League tournament winners of 10 of its last 12 games. The Raiders saw a five-game win streak snapped last Saturday in a 15-11 loss at Lehigh.
Friday’s match-up with the Bison will be the 30th all-time with Colgate holding a commanding 26-3 lead in the series. The Raiders have prevailed in the last six meetings against the Bison, including a 12-7 victory on April 11 at Tyler’s Field. Ashley Didio (Syracuse, N.Y.) and Courtney Miller (Chappaqua, N.Y.) led the team with three goals each.
Colgate’s roster boasts six players that recently were named to all-Patriot League first or second teams. The Raiders’ offense, ranked 12th nationally (13.94 gpg), is balanced and features seven players with 10 or more goals, five of them have 25 or more. First-team all-Patriot League honorees Brie Moran (Little Silver, N.J.), Colleen Bubnack (Syracuse, N.Y.), Meghan Lawler (Liverpool, N.Y.), as well as Miller make up the top four scorers for Colgate. Moran (49-12-61) needs three more points to move into the top 10 for a single season as a Raider. Bubnack (29-26-55) and Lawler (32-21-53) rank second and third respectively on the squad in point production, while Miller (29-8-37) ranks fourth. Didio (27-6-33), who was named a second team all-Patriot League performer, is fifth on the team in points and needs four more goals to move into eighth on the all-time career list.
On the other side, the Raiders have the fifth stingiest scoring defense unit in the country allowing 8.25 goals per game. First team all-league and Patriot League defensive player of the year Maddie Kearns (Chevy Chase, Md.) along with senior Erin Poulter (Hillsborough, N.J.) anchors the Colgate defense. Kearns, who has tallied 12 goals and 18 points, ranks second on the team in ground balls (43) and caused turnovers (23), while Poulter, a shut down defender, has 34 ground balls on the season in her 16 appearances.
In net, Christina Roa (Potomac, Md.) has seen most of the action the last three weeks. The freshman sports a 5-1 record with a 6.92 goals against average. In her 15 appearances including three starts, Roa has saved 81 shots and has a save percentage just under 59 percent.
The Bison’s top four scoring threats include two all-league performers in first team honoree Bonnie Buechel (36-6-42) and second team selection Julia Braun (27-4-31). Carol Donohue (32-14-46) is Bucknell’s top point producer. In the cage, Alyssa DeLorenz, the league’s goaltender of the year, has 161 saves on the season and sports a 9-7 overall record.
Colgate students or any other students from the participating schools can attend the games free of charge with a valid school ID card. Single game adult tickets can be purchased for $6, while children 12 and under can get in for $3. Friday passes will be available at the gate for $10 ($5 for children), while a weekend pass, which will get you into all three games will cost $15 ($8 for children).
Fans not in attendance can view live video by purchasing the Patriot League All-Access package off the league website at www.patriotleague.com. A link is also provided off the Colgate Athletic Website as well. LiveStats for all three games can be viewed free of charge.