It was a difficult weekend for both soccer programs of Bloomsburg as the Golden Knights of Gannon University defeated both teams 2-0.
Saturday afternoon proved itself to be a tough day for the men’s soccer team as the lost their fourth consecutive game at the hands of the visiting Golden Knights at Steph Pettit Stadium.
The visitors found their first score early in the first half, as a foul in the box lead to a penalty kick opening just 7:10 minutes into playing. It was Gannon’s Sam Thornton who was able to best sophomore goalie Brock Gould.
While almost making the save, he just was unable to fully grasp the shot and the ball sailed into the right giving the Golden Knights a 1-0 lead over the Huskies. This would give Thornton his third goal of the season and would lead Gannon to their 9-3 advantage in shots attempted against the Huskies. While even holding a large margin in corner kicks 7-1, Gannon was not able to best sophmore Gould, who would go on to make three saves in the first half. Keeping the Huskies alive, Gould proved himself as it was his first start of the season.
The score stayed at 1-0 until the 64th minute, as another shot by Thornton would increase the deficit to 2-0. Bloomsburg was trying its best to stay in the game; with a little over five left in the game, they were given a prayer with a penalty kick. Luck was not on their side however, as it was Gannon’s goalkeeper Hedi Mehnaoui stopped junior Mike Bazadona III of a goal.Bazadona III would end the game with the most shots on goal for the Huskies, taking five shots throughout the game.
Despite a loss, Gould would have an impressive first start with seven saves, beating Mehnaoui’s three. The Huskies would be outshot 18-11 and lost a 13-1edge in corner kick opportunities.
The Huskies now are 2-4 overall and are 0-2 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference.
On Friday the 21st, the Huskies will go on the road to face their next competitor iatMercyhurst University where they will battle the Lakers in a mtch set to start at 1:30pm.
The Huskies return home on September 23rd where they will welcome PSAC rival West Chester University at Steph Pettit Stadium. Bloomsburg looks to get back on track after starting off the 2018 season with a 2-0 record.
It was a difficult weekend for the Women’s team as well, as the Huskies faced their first loss at home on Saturday afternoon losing 2-0.
Despite an aggressive first half with Bloomsburg outshooting Gannon 5-2, it still remained a scoreless first half. In a shocking twist, The Golden Knights scored two rapid goals within only 1:36 minutes apart in the only scoring of the game. It was Gannon’s Kayla Bevacqua who scored during the 60th minute of play, as she was able to capture a rebound off a Husky defender and scored on the sophomore Jenna Hawkins.
Only after 96 seconds did the Golden Knights score again as Gannon’s Maddie North used as outlet pass to meet Taylor Lewis to skate Bloomsburg’s defenses and fire a shot on Hawkins just under the crossbar to extend the lead on the Huskies to 2-0.
Although they tried their best efforts to stay in the game, the Bloomsburg girls could not score on The Golden Knight goalie team of Hannah Pufpaff and Kennedy Solymosi. The closest attempt to closing the gap went to junior Alexis Rostucher who’s shot was blocked by Pulpaff.
Despite finishing with an advantage over The Golden Knights in shot attempts, taking nine over their four, Gannon finished with more over corner kicks taking 4-3.
The Huskies stand on a 4-2 record overall and have a 4-2 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference standings.
On Friday the 21st, Bloomsburg will travel to Erie for their next match; battling the Lakers of Mercyhurst. Their next game will be on Sunday the 23rd at home hosting the Golden Rams.
The girls face a big challenge ahead of them, as this week’s loss dropped them down two spots in the Atlantic Region according to a United Soccer Coaches poll. They are currently ranked eighth. The top four positions in the poll have been given to West Chester, Seton Hill, Kutztown and Millersville. All four teams did not move spots in the past two weeks of polls.