SAN DIEGO, Calif. — Bucknell University completed its participation at San Diego State University’s Aztec Invitational by suffering setbacks versus No. 8-ranked Long Beach State University, 19-6, and No. 24/Division III No. 1 Ponoma-Pitzer Colleges, 12-11.
In the opening contest, Long Beach State held the Bison scoreless in the first quarter and rode the wave to a 13-goal victory. Six different Bison tallied a goal in the loss.
LBSU kept the Orange & Blue off the scoreboard and scored three goals in the opening stanza.
Bucknell found the cage twice in the second quarter, but Long Beach State’s eight goals prevented any credible chance.
The Beach’s dominance continued in the second half. Bucknell’s offensive pace picked up with four goals, but LBSU added eight more to seal its win.
Bucknell came tantalizingly close to its first ranked win of 2026 but a Sagehens’ goal with 54 seconds left prevented the upset as Pomona-Pitzer held on for a victory. Addison Wedding led Bucknell with three goals.
The game started positively for the Bison with Bucknell recording a 2-1 lead after the first quarter.
The Sagehens asserted themselves in the next frame by outscoring the Bison five goals to two.
Ponoma-Pitzer surged ahead 7-4 in the third quarter, but the Orange & Blue rallied to tie the contest at seven-all. Once again, the Sagehens forged ahead by a goal before Wedding dented the twine and the game headed into the fourth quarter deadlocked at eight-all.
Pomona-Pitzer went ahead by two goals in the fourth quarter before Bucknell cut the deficit in half. The Sagehens answered before the Bison tied the game on goals by Wedding and Ashley Hopper. Following a timeout by Pomona-Pitzer head coach Alex Rodriguez to drew up a play, the Sagehens cashed in to go ahead 12-11. Bucknell used a timeout to come up with a response, but the Bison turned the ball over to permit Pomona-Pitzer to hang on for a one-score win.
Information courtesy Bucknell University Athletics Communications
