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LEWISBURG, Pa. - The No. 20 Boston University field hockey team secured its first-ever Patriot League title with a 2-1 victory over tournament host Bucknell on Saturday afternoon at Graham Field.

Sophomore Amanda Cassera opened the scoring on a penalty stroke before assisting on classmate Taylor Blood's goal to give the Terriers a 2-0 lead early in the second half.

Bucknell got a goal back in the 49th minute, but tournament MVP Valentina Cerda Eimbcke and the Terrier defense stood tall to capture the championship.

With the win, the Terriers secure a bid to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2007. The Terriers enter the NCAA tournament on a five-game winning streak, their longest since the start of the 2012 season.

BU struck first as the result of a corner. The play was set up for junior Rachel Coll at the top of the circle and her shot was saved by a Bucknell defender that used her body to stop the ball. That resulted in a penalty stroke for the Terriers, who sent Cassera in for the try.

Cassera's attempt found the top left of the net to give the Terriers a 1-0 lead at the 11:16. 

Despite Bucknell's best efforts, that would be the only goal of the opening half. Before halftime arrived, the Bison threw five shots on goal and earned seven corners - including four straight at one point. Cerda Eimbcke was up to the task, however, and allowed BU to take a 1-0 lead into the break.

The Terriers doubled their lead early in the latter half when Cassera collected a pass and darted towards the circle before flinging a shot towards the goal. Blood was in the path of the shot in the middle of the circle and tipped it past Bucknell netminder Shannon Keen at the 39:12 mark. 

The Bison attempted to mount a rally, but were only able to able to register two shots on goal in the second half. The first one found the back of the cage though. Off a corner, Liz Wells had the ball on the right side and found Amie Pritchard at the left post. Pritchard tapped it in to make it a 2-1 affair with 21:18 left in regulation.

Bucknell called a timeout with 4:15 remaining and pulled Keen in favor of an extra attacker. BU held its ground, however, and held on to capture the ninth conference title in program history.

The Terriers successfully avenged a 5-2 loss to Bucknell - their only conference setback - on Oct. 4. Since that defeat, BU is 9-2 and hasn't allowed more than one regulation goal in any of those 11 contests. The Terriers will learn their NCAA draw on Sunday evening at 10 p.m.