The Bloomsburg University Women’s Lacrosse team lost their last two games of their 2018 season and watched their season come to an end after a 12-10 loss to Gannon in the regular season finale, as well as, a 16-7 loss in the first round of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) tournament quarterfinal to #21 Mercyhurst on May 1.
The Huskies traveled to Gannon for a key matchup in the final regular season game of 2018, as the game became crucial for the PSAC tournament outcome.
The first half at Gannon was very slow as the teams fought to a 3-2 Gannon lead at halftime. The Huskies goals came from senior attacker Tracy Rusen at the 26:51 mark and freshman midfielder Megan Smith at 16:48.
The teams continued to fight in the second half as Gannon scored just two minutes into the second half, followed by another goal from Rusen at the 25-minute mark. Gannon would go onto score the next three goals, pulling their lead to 7-3 with about 20 minutes remaining.
Freshman midfielder Anna Dempsey went on to deliver her ninth of the season to keep the Huskies in the game at 7-4. The teams then went on to trade two goals each, making it 9-6 in favor of the Golden Knights. The two goals from senior midfielder Taylor Turner and Rusen made the Golden Knight lead just one.
Gannon again went on another scoring run, scoring the next three goals to push their lead to 12-8. Rusen and freshman midfielder Abby Bergman would score in the final two goals in the last two minutes for the Huskies, but Gannon held on to win by a score of 12-10. Sophomore goalkeeper Angela Dipasquale made nine saves in the loss, bringing her own and the Huskies record to 10-7.
Although the loss came at a bad time for the Huskies with the PSAC tournament just days away, Bloomsburg had the head-to-head advantage with both IUP and Millersville, giving them the advantage and the sixth seed spot in the PSAC tournament, giving them a date to take on Mercyhurst in the opening round.
The Lakers proved their national ranking, scoring the first three goals of the game in the opening five minutes. Bloomsburg would respond with the next two goals of the contest coming from Smith and Rusen.
Mercyhurst would go on to score the next two goals, stretching their lead to 5-2. It wasn’t until about seven minutes remaining in the first half where redshirt-freshman attacker Grace Kelleher rifled one home and kept the Huskies in the game, making it 5-3.
The Lakers then went on to score another two quick goals back-to-back as time in the first half was coming to an end. Rusen then showed her leadership, delivering her second goal of the afternoon with 29 seconds remaining. Mercyhurst took a 7-4 lead into halftime at Tullio field on the campus of Mercyhurst.
Mercyhurst did not change a beat in the second half, coming out of the gates and scoring the first three goals of the half in the opening four minutes, extending the Laker lead to 10-4. Turner scored her first of the game with 17:43 remaining to cut the lead to five.
With Mercyhurst holding a 10-5 lead with about 15 minutes remaining, the Lakers would go on to score the next six goals in an 11-minute period. Kelleher and Turner each notched one more in the final two minutes of the game but it was not enough to catch the Lakers, as Mercyhurst eliminated Bloomsburg in the opening round of play in the 2018 PSAC tournament.
The Huskies finish the season with a 10-8 overall record, the programs first ten-win season since 2013. Dipasquale made just three saves in the loss, bringing her own record between the pipes to 10-8 in the season. DiPasquale has been the Huskies only goaltender in her two years with the program.
Mercyhurst goes on to face defending PSAC champions #14 East Stroudsburg in the semifinals, amd West Chester and Lock Haven face off in the other semifinal matchup. The semifinals are played on Friday May 5.