Fueled by an incredible four-goal performance from junior Chelsey Garkowski, the Bucknell women's soccer team raced to a 5-0 victory over visiting Canisius on Friday night before a strong Family Weekend crowd at Emmitt Field at Holmes Stadium. Courtney Nelson dished out three assists to help Garkowski tie the program record for goals in a game, and the Bison improved to 7-4 heading into the start of Patriot League play next week.

Senior Kayla Yee also scored for Bucknell, and senior goalkeeper Sandita McDermott made six saves in 68 minutes of action to backstop the team's fifth shutout of the season. But the story of the night was Garkowski. The junior from Brick, N.J., had one career goal coming into the season, but she now has seven in 2012 alone. Two games ago against CSU Bakersfield she recorded her first career multi-goal game with a pair in Bucknell's 3-1 win over the Roadrunners, and she was named Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week for the first time on Monday.

This was the fifth four-goal game in program history, and Garkowski is the third player to accomplish the feat. Bucknell Hall-of-Famer Lisa Gibbons, the program's all-time leading scorer, recorded three four-goal games between 1991 and 1993, and Kerry McDonnell had the most recent one against Scranton in 1994.

The four goals are tied for the most in a game in all of Division I women's soccer this season. The only three others to do it so far are Amanda LeCave of Pepperdine against Indiana; Alabama's Katie Bourgeois against South Alabama; and Portland's Amanda Frisbie against Fresno State.

"I have to give all the credit to my teammates for giving me great balls all night," said Garkowski after the match. "This was a total team effort. They say good players score goals but great players create them, and that definitely applies tonight. Our whole team is on the same page right now. We have great seniors and great captains who are really pushing us."

In a wide open game that featured 35 total shots in the first half alone and 49 for the game (29 by Bucknell), the Bison got the scoring started just 6:25 into the match. Taryn Boucher played a direct ball forward up the right side, where Garkowski outran a defender to the ball, took it into the box and finished from 12 yards out.

Just over nine-minutes later, Bridget Gilmartin sent a seemingly harmless pass into the box, but it fell untouched and Garkowski outhustled everyone to the ball. She took a touch to the left side of the box and buried the shot from about nine yards away.

At the 25:52 mark Garkowski completed her first hat trick, this one coming on a beautiful give-and-go combo with Nelson. Goal No. 3 came just after a pair of near misses for Garkowski. Megan Tock robbed her with a diving save in the 20th minute, and in the 25th she blasted a shot just inches over the bar after a perfect through ball from Evelyn Nicinski.

It remained a 3-0 game into the second half, when Yee scored her second goal of the season in the 56th minute. Nelson set it up with a swift run down the left side, followed by a cross that skipped through the six-yard box and came out the back side. Yee ran the ball down near the end line and from almost zero angle managed to tuck a shot inside the far post.

Garkowski made it 5-0 in the 62nd minute. Nicinski took control of the ball in the middle of the field and fed Nelson, who chipped a pass over a defender to Garkowski, whose shot from just inside the 18 deflected off a Canisius player and spun past the charging goalkeeper and over the goal line.

Garkowski came inches away from yet another goal with 27 minutes to play, but a Golden Griffins defender just got a toe on her close-range shot to deflect it inches wide of the left post. As the ball went out for a corner kick, Garkowski was substituted off the field to a standing ovation.

All 22 field players on the roster saw action for the Bison, and freshman goalkeeper Jessie Ashworth came on for the final 22 minutes. Her lone save was a diving stop on Megan Mahoney. McDermott also had a number of tough saves, her best coming on Mahoney late in the first half on a hard shot that she was able to tip off the crossbar.

Nelson's three assists fell one shy of the program record, set by Gibbons against Lycoming in 1994.

Canisius generated plenty of offense in the game, compiling 20 totals shots, including four each from reserve forwards Mahoney and Brianna Smith.

"This was a class performance from beginning to end," said coach Ben Landis. "Even though they had some chances I thought we set a good tempo throughout the match. Goals are the eliminator. Once you get a few you can start to dictate how you want to play and I thought we did that tonight. Obviously it was Chelsey's night. She deserved it for how hard she has worked. We are healthy and have a full week to prepare for a very good Colgate team next week. We are looking forward to Patriot League play."

This was the fourth time in 2012 Bucknell scored at least three goals in a game. The Bison had not scored four in a game since a 4-2 win at Cornell in 2009, and they had not scored five or more since a 6-0 home victory over Lafayette late in the 2007 campaign.

Prior to Garkowski, the last Bison to record a hat trick was Jennifer Dervarics against Holy Cross in 2007.

Bucknell now has 22 goals in 11 games this season, more than double its total (10) from all of last season.

The Bison open up Patriot League play next Saturday, Sept. 23 against Colgate at 2 p.m. at Emmitt Field.