Women’s Soccer Travels to Boston for Saturday Clash

Bucknell (5-5-4, 2-0-2 PL) at Boston University (5-7-1, 2-2 PL)
When: Saturday, Oct. 10, 1 p.m.
Where: Nickerson Field, Boston, Mass.
Streaming: ESPN+
Live Stats: GoTerriers.com

About the Bison

• Match Day No. 5 in the Patriot League sees the Bison hit the road to face Boston University on Saturday afternoon. Both teams reside in the top half of the league table and are looking to make a move down the stretch.
• At 2-0-2, Bucknell is one of only two teams still unbeaten in league play along with 4-0 Army. The Bison have beaten Lehigh (3-1) and Lafayette (1-0) and played scoreless draws against Holy Cross and Loyola. Bucknell sits in fourth place on eight points, trailing Army, Navy and Lafayette, the latter two tied for second on nine points at 3-1. Boston University is right behind Bucknell in fifth with six points.
• Saturday’s game will be a homecoming for Massachusetts natives Emma Gavin (Easton) and Tennessee Murphy (Monson).
• Bucknell has been carried by its defense in recent weeks. Since conceding three first-half goals at Towson on Sept. 6, Bucknell has given up only one goal in its last five contests, and that was on a penalty kick. Saturday’s 90-minute clean sheet against Loyola extended Bucknell’s streak to 497:25 – more than eight hours of game action – without giving up a goal in the run of play. That five-game run includes a scoreless tie against No. 23 Villanova followed by the first four Patriot League matches.
• Freshman goalkeeper Sarah McFarland notched her second Patriot League Goalkeeper of the Week citation of the season on Monday, and freshman Clare Nemsick and sophomore Emma Gavin have garnered Defender of the Week honors during this recent spell.
• Six different Bison have now combined to capture eight Patriot League weekly awards.

Bucknell 2026 Patriot League Players of the Week

Aug. 17 – Ingrid Murphy (Rookie)
Aug. 24 – Presley Sutter (Forward)
Sept. 14 – Clare Nemsick (Defender), Sarah McFarland (Goalkeeper & Rookie)
Sept. 21 – Louisa Thomsen (Midfielder)
Sept. 28 – Emma Gavin (Defender)
Oct. 5 – Sarah McFarland (Goalkeeper)

• McFarland now has six shutouts on the season, the most ever for a Bucknell freshman goalkeeper and currently the second-most among all Division I freshman. Only Iowa’s Braelynn Gait has more with seven.
• Caitlyn Scott has been an impactful addition to the starting lineup. The senior made her first career start against No. 23 Villanova and shined in a scoreless draw against the high-scoring Wildcats. Scott has played the full 90 minutes in each of the last five games in a holding center midfield position. Nemsick, Gavin, and Julia Palitti have all been outstanding on the back line.
• While the defense has been stout, the Bison are searching for more goal production. Since pumping in 12 goals in back-to-back August wins over Mount St. Mary’s (8-1) and La Salle (4-0), Bucknell has been kept off the board in six of its last nine games. Three of those six are 0-0 draws, but the Bison will need to find some more goals with an upcoming schedule that includes title contenders Boston University, Navy, and Army over the next three weeks.
• Generating shots has not been a problem for the Bison. They lead the Patriot League and rank 26th nationally in total attempts per game at 16.9. But they also rank 314th in shot accuracy (percentage of shots on target) at 38.4%. Bucknell has recorded 20 or more shots five times and 30 or more twice this season.
• Ingrid Murphy has been an offensive catalyst in her rookie season. She leads the team and ranks sixth in the Patriot League lead with four goals, and she is also sixth in the league lead in points with 10.
• The Bison have outscored opponents 18-14 on the season, with the 18 goals coming from nine different players. Fifteen players have registered a point. In addition to Ingrid Murphy’s four goals, Katie Connell, Louisa Thomsen, Dani Howardand Tennessee Murphy all have two each. Nemsick and Gaby Parker lead the team with three assists, and Parker’s 39 shots are the most in the Patriot League.
• After the scoreless draw at No. 23 Villanova, McFarland was named to the TopDrawerSoccer Team of the Week, and her spectacular diving save in the 89th minute was selected as the IWOC National Save of the Week.
• The Mount St. Mary’s win on Aug. 20 was career victory No. 100 for head coach Kelly Cookwho is now in her 12th season on the Bison sideline. Six of her previous 11 have resulted in a Patriot League regular-season or tournament championship. With a 103-76-36 career record, Cook is Bucknell’s winningest women’s soccer coach.

Boston University at a Glance/Series History

• The Terriers are an annual title contender in women’s soccer, and they are coming off a 2025 season in which they captured the Patriot League regular-season crown before falling 3-2 to Army in the PL Tournament final.
• This year’s edition comes in at 5-7-1 overall and 2-2 in the Patriot League. Boston University started out league play with one-goal wins over Navy (2-1) and Loyola (1-0), but the Terriers have dropped their last two to Army (2-0) and Lafayette (2-1).
• Their most recent game came on the road in Easton, Pa., and the Terriers let a 1-0 lead slip away as Lafayette scored in the 80th and 86th minutes to steal the three points.
• Kat Slott scored her team-leading sixth goal of the season in the just 3:48 into the match. Slott’s six goals are second-most in the conference, one behind Army’s Kamryn McWhinney. Slott had two career goals coming into her senior season, both coming as a sophomore, but she has broken out in 2026 with goals in six different games, including three in her last five appearances.
• Olivia Avellar and Jaiden Schultz have three goals apiece, while Georgia Prouty and Sam Ryan have both scored twice. Boston University has 19 goals in 13 matches while allowing 23.
• Senior goalkeeper Bridget Carr has made seven starts, including all four Patriot League matches. She has 18 saves with 12 goals allowed. Sophomore Jill Humphreys has started six games and has 17 saves with 11 conceded.
• Senior Helene Tyburczy is the reigning Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year. She was also selected as this year’s Patriot League Preseason Defensive Player of the Year, and she was joined on the Preseason All-PL squad by Avellar and Ciara Kennedy.
• Bucknell and Boston University know each other very well, as they met in both the regular season and postseason four straight year from 2021-24. Going back a bit further, the Bison and Terriers have clashed seven times in the Patriot League Tournament since 2015, and they have met a total of 19 times since Boston University joined the PL in 2013.
• Bucknell holds an 8-7-4 lead in the all-time series. Boston University won the first four meetings, and the Bison are 8-3-4 since then.
• Bucknell and Boston University in the Patriot League Tournament:

  • 2015 Final at Boston: L 0-1
  • 2016 Final at Bucknell: W 2-1 (OT)
  • 2017 Semis at Navy: W 1-0
  • 2021 Final at Boston: W 1-0
  • 2022 Semis at Bucknell: T 0-0 (2OT), Bucknell advanced 4-3 on PKs
  • 2023 Semis at Bucknell: W 3-1
  • 2024 Final at Bucknell: T 1-1 (2OT), Boston advanced 8-7 on PKs

• Only five of the 19 head-to-head meetings have been decided by more than one goal, but one of those came last season when the Terriers won 3-0 at Emmitt Field. Margy Porta and Samantha Aronson (PK) scored in the first half, and Mackenzie Stickelman added a third in the 58th minute.

The Road Ahead

• Bucknell hits the road again next week for a Friday-night game at Navy. The Mids are 3-1 in Patriot League play heading into this Friday’s clash with first-place Army.