The Huskies were bested at home this past Tuesday by the number-one ranked West Chester Rams. The Huskies were unable to even score a point against the Rams’ defense and lost 3-0.
With this defeat, the Huskies now sit at an overall record of 3-8 and remain winless in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC), their conference record being 0-3.
The Golden Rams remain undefeated maintaining dominance in the conference with a 4-0 record and a 10-0 overall record, making them the team in the PSAC to beat this season.
To the credit of the Husky defense, they managed to only allow West Chester to score during the first half of the game. Freshman goalkeeper Abby Shaffer only allowed one point during the first period of the game, while a pair of goals from the Rams came during the second period.
The visitors maintained an aggressive offense that continued a barrage of shots that put the lead 3-0 against the Huskies.
The Huskies’ iron curtain would emerge in the second half, however, junior goalkeeper Hannah Barnard was able to stop all 14 shots taken by the West Chester Rams in the game’s final 30 minutes of play.
Barnard boasted a personal-best on the night with those 14 saves; this shattered her previous best of eight saves in a single game, which she did twice last season. The defensive effort of Barnard proved that despite being the number-one ranked, the Rams would not be able to run up the score on the Huskies.
After this defeat, Shaffer’s goalkeeping record now sits at 3-7 overall. Despite allowing three goals in the game, she managed to save seven in the contest.
A late save in the second period was also earned by the senior midfielder Tessa Hoffman, who added to the defensive strength of the Huskies.
West Chester boasts more wins against the Huskies with an all-time series record of 13-5.
The Rams have bested Bloomsburg in the past 11 straight games, since Oct. 6, 2012, where the Huskies emerged victorious.
This was not the first time this season these teams met for a game though. On Sept. 11, 2019, these teams collided in West Chester for a non-conference game, where the Rams yet again overcame the Huskies in a 5-1 victory.
The Huskies were outshot 21-2 during the match, but it was a career first goal for freshman Meghan Longenhangen.
While the game against West Chester may not have gone the way the Huskies wanted, their upcoming schedule shows their remaining games are all against PSAC teams and the Huskies have the opportunity to comeback when it counts to run their division.
This upcoming Saturday, the Huskies will be battling against the Crimson Hawks from Indiana University of Pennsylvania at home for a conference game. The Crimson Hawks sit at an overall record of 5-6 and sit at a conference record of 1-3.
Much like their Husky competition, the Crimson Hawks are on a two-game losing streak. A win for the Huskies here seems very achievable due to their similar statistics along with the Crimson Hawks’ record on the road being 2-2.
If the Huskies can make use of their familiarity of Steph Pettit Stadium and the noise of the fans, they can surely capture a win here and begin a win streak.
After their match with IUP, the Huskies will be on the road until the homecoming game. Their first stop will be in East Stroudsburg, P.a., where they will be facing off against the East Stroudsburg Warriors.
The Warriors boast an impressive 11-1 overall record and a conference record of 4-0. They will prove to be quite the challenge for the Huskies, but a win here could change the entire season. Their match against West Chester in late Oct. will surely be decisive in who will win the division.
The next stop for the Huskies is in Greensburg, P.a. Seton Hill University’s Griffins will be the next opponent to do battle with Bloomsburg. The Griffins sport a messy overall record of 1-7 and currently remain winless in the conference. A win here is to be assured as long as the Huskies play their usual best.
The last game for the Huskies before they return for homecoming is against the Millersville University Marauders. Another tough field hockey team in this division, the Marauders sit at an overall record of 9-2 but only sport a conference record of 2-2.
A win here seems doable, but it will be interesting to see how the Marauders fare against both West Chester and IUP.
These next few games will truly test the endurance of all the teams in the PSAC and prove who really deserves to win the conference.
Hopefully, the Huskies will dig deep over the course of this month and emerge as the true contender of this division; their career will be watched with great interest.
This Saturday, Oct. 12 will be the next matchup on the Huskies’ schedule. Along with playing at home, the Huskies will also be playing 4 the cure in support of breast cancer awareness.