LORETTO, Pa. (Aug. 24, 2008) – Rachel Seibert (Murrysville, Pa./Franklin Regional) scored 15 minutes into the second half and just missed on a potential game-winner with under two minutes remaining in regulation as the Saint Francis women's soccer team battled defending Patriot League champion Bucknell to a 1-1 tie in its season opener on Sunday at the Stokes Soccer Complex.

The Red Flash return to action at 2 p.m. on Friday when they visit Holy Cross.  They will then travel to Boston to take on Northeastern at 1 p.m.

Head coach Brenda van Stralen was proud of her players for keeping up with a Bucknell team that dropped them 5-2 last year before going on to win the Patriot League title.

“We learned a lot out of our season opener game. We can only build from here,” said van Stralen, who is in her fifth season at the helm of the Red Flash.  “The mental make up of this team is better then it has ever been. We still are praising our possession game and our work ethic was outstanding. I can honestly say they all left it on the field. Still a lot to work on, but I couldn't have asked for a better home opener.”

The two teams engaged in a defensive battle in the first half that saw only six total shots.  Action picked up in the second half as the Bison outshot the Red Flash 17-10 in the match. However, Seibert, on a breakaway, received an entry pass from Alanna Vespa (Ancaster, Ontario/Saint Mary’s Catholic) (Ancaster, Ontario/Saint Mary's Catholic) and found the back of the net 15 minutes into the second half.  Vespa split the defense with a perfect pass to Seibert, who dribbled the ball into the 18-yard box and beat Bucknell goalkeeper Kathryn Sutton to give SFU a 1-0 lead.

Saint Francis tried to protect it's lead, but Bison forward Jennifer Dervarics, who was named the Patriot League Preseason Player-of-the-Year last week, drove a shot through traffic to tie the match with 4:07 remaining.  With 1:37 remaining in the second half, Bucknell had the chance to take its first lead of the game on a breakaway by Devarics, but she was denied on a great diving save by Red Flash goalkeeper Jessica Boyer (Pittsburgh, Pa/Mount Lebanon) (Pittsburgh, Pa./Mount Lebanon).

Saint Francis went on the counterattack and Vespa and Seibert nearly connected again, but Seibert's shot went wife with 1:12 remaining.   To along with her assist, Vespa had a team-leading six shots, while Boyer stayed solid with six saves.   Junior defender Denise Eckert (Rochester, N.Y./Greece Arcadia) (Rochester, N.Y./Greece Arcadia) had a great defensive effort as well, and freshman midfielder Traci Flick (Montoursville, Pa./Montoursville) (Montoursville, Pa./Montoursville) showed her potential to make a difference on the team in her first collegiate match.