The No. 6 Bloomsburg University women’s soccer team extended its win streak to 13 consecutive games on Wednesday night after defeating Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) rival Kutztown University by a score of 1-0.
On Tuesday, the Huskies moved up one spot from seven to six in the division II United Soccer national coaches poll. Bloomsburg started the season at five but fell out of the rankings after an overtime loss to conference foe East Stroudsburg on Sept. 11. That loss for the Huskies marks the only defeat for BU this season.
With the win, the Huskies improve to 15-1 overall with a 13-1 mark in the PSAC, while the Golden Bears drop to 8-7. The 13 consecutive wins is now the programs all-time record for most consecutive amount of games won in a row.
With yet another shutout last night, redshirt junior goalkeeper Jenna Hawkins is now the all-time leader in career shutouts with 28 after last night. Amy Lynn (1992-95) held the record before Hawkins with 27 shutouts in her career in a Bloomsburg uniform.
Bloomsburg now remains at the top of the PSAC East standings with two conference matchups remaining in the regular season against West Chester and second place Millersville.
The Huskies are the only team in the conference to already have clinched a postseason berth in the PSAC tournament, which BU won last season after defeating East Stroudsburg in overtime. BU then went on a miraculous run all the way to the elite 8 of the 2018-19 NCAA Division II women’s soccer tournament.
After the first half of play on Wednesday night, Bloomsburg and Kutztown were still knotted at 0-0 as each team managed to fire seven shots a piece in the opening 45 minutes.
It was not until four minutes after the halftime break when Nicole Varano headed one pass the Kutztown net minder off a throw in pass from Jessica Milligan to give the Huskies a 1-0 lead early in the second half of play. The tally from Varano marked her ninth goal of the lead, as she still remains in the top three on the team in scoring in the 2019 calendar year.
The goal from Varano seemed to be all that the Huskies needed to preserve their 13 consecutive victory. Hawkins pushed aside all six shots she saw in the match for her record breaking shutout.
She ranks first in the league in goals against average shutouts and second in saves per game.
Bloomsburg managed to outshoot Kutztown by an 18-16 margin, while the Golden Bears attempted just one more corner kick than the Huskies. The two rival teams managed to reach 16 total fouls on the night.
The Huskies will now have a week off before traveling to West Chester to face the Golden Rams. Bloomsburg beat West Chester earlier this season 2-0, while the Golden Rams were ranked at eighth in the nation. BU will then return home to face Millersville to close out the regular season.
The annual PSAC tournament is set to begin on Nov. 12 at the top seed of the PSAC west once the season standings are final. The NCAA tournament will begin once all conference tournaments are final.
The match between the Huskies and West Chester is set to begin at 12 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 6.