On Saturday, the Bloomsburg University Field Hockey team recorded their first loss of the 2017 campaign against the defending Division II national champions, Shippensburg, 3-2 in overtime. Following the contest, both teams sport a 3-1 mark on the season.
The opening half featured no scoring. The Huskies did spend a lot of time on the Raiders’ side of the field, as the Shippensburg defense tallied four saves and three blocks. Bloomsburg, meanwhile, notched two saves and a block in the opening 35 minutes.
After the 10-minute intermission, Bloomsburg came out firing. Just 2:42 into the second half, senior Geneka Mahan registered her second goal of the season off a deflection that came on a penalty corner. Her twin sister, Mackenna Mahan and junior Tali Wehner assisted Geneka on the play. Less than two minutes later, it was Mackenna’s turn to score, coming off a cross-crease pass from sophomore Ali McKan that deflected into the goal. That’s Mackenna’s fourth goal of the season, which now ties junior Brooke Zeiders for the team-high.
Following the second goal, the Huskies held the Raiders scoreless for more than 15 minutes. With 11:49 remaining in the latter half, Shippensburg scored their first goal when senior Rebecca Bouyea received a long pass and launched it right into the goal for her fourth of the season. Despite their lead getting sliced in half, Bloomsburg’s defense continued to hold the Shippensburg offense for over nine minutes. But, with 2:34 left in regulation, Bouyea once again found the net unassisted for her fifth goal. Both teams went back-and-forth in the final two-and-a-half minutes, but neither could find the evasive winning score. This sent the Huskies into overtime for the first time this season.
Facing a sudden-win situation in a 15-minute overtime period, Shippensburg aggressively attacked the Bloomsburg defense. The Raiders outshot Bloomsburg 6-1, and with 6:33 remaining in the first overtime period, senior Emily Barnard scored the winning goal for Shippensburg on a 2-on-1 centering pass. That gave Barnard her fifth goal of 2017, tying her with Bouyea for Shippensburg’s team lead. With her pass to Barnard, senior Mary Spisak awarded herself an assist. This wiped Bloomsburg’s undefeated record away, in the most heart-breaking fashion.
Looking at the box score, the Raiders out-shot the Huskies, 32-6, and retained a 20-7 margin in penalty corners. Bloomsburg led in the saves department, 15-2.
The Huskies dropped their second straight contest on Tuesday in West Chester, suffering a 5-1 loss.
Freshman goalkeeper Dana Sheply saves a Shippensburg shot with her foot. Sheply has 23 saves on the season.