SU Downs Bucknell, 3-1 On Senior Day

Sunday, October 30

J.S. Coyne Stadium

2 p.m.

Syracuse University

Bucknell University

10/30/2011 5:07:29 PM | Field Hockey

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Behind a 34-2 shot advantage, the Syracuse field hockey team (16-3) closed the regular season with a 3-1 win against Bucknell on Senior Day at J.S. Coyne Stadium. The Orange received goals from three different scorers as SU honors its four seniors (Martina Loncarica, Nicole Nelson, Heather Susek and Erika Wachter) prior to the game.

Syracuse advances to the BIG EAST Tournament for the fifth consecutive season, which will be held next weekend at Coyne. The Orange, the No. 2 seed in the tournament, will square off with Villanova at 3:00 p.m. on Friday, while top-seed Connecticut will battle Louisville in the early game at 12:30 p.m. The winners of Friday's semifinal will meet on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. in the Championship game. The Orange enter postseason play with a 16-3 record overall, including a 5-1 mark in conference play.

The Orange dominated the Bison throughout Sunday's contest, earning 12 penalty corners during the game and limiting Bucknell to just two corners. SU consistently tested Bison goalkeeper Erica Perrine, who made 16 saves.

Syracuse opened the scoring in the 14th minute as Susek netted her 17th goal of the season with a backhand shot that got over Perrine following a feed from Leonie Geyer.

Susek's team lead in goals did not last long as Kelsey Millman quickly matched her teammate with her 17th goal of the season 18 minutes later. After inserting the ball on a penalty corner, Millman quickly positioned herself to redirect a Susek shot into the back of the cage.

The Orange would extend its lead to three early in the second half as Stephanie Hussey scored her second goal of the season. Hussey, after putting the ball into play on a corner, headed towards the left post, and promptly banged home a rebound from an Iona Holloway shot past Perrine.

Bucknell would cut the SU lead to two with 15:03 left in regulation as Gabby Palumbo deflected a shot past Sophia Openshaw, who replaced starter Leean Stiver with 23 minutes to go, off a pass from Ellie Riegel. The Orange, however, continued to maintain possession for the remainder of regulation to thwart any hopes of a Bison comeback.