This past Tuesday, the top-seeded Bloomsburg University women’s soccer team rallied with four second half goals to stun eighth seeded Slippery Rock University by a score of 4-1 in the quarterfinal first round of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) tournament. The win eliminated Slippery Rock and moves Bloomsburg onto the semifinal game against fifth seeded West Chester on Friday.
The Huskies found themselves in an unusual position as they were trailing at half to The Rock 1-0. Slippery Rock’s Jordyn Minda scored in the 27 minute for her team to carry a 1-0 lead into the half. The second half showed a much different game as the Huskies came out firing immediately.
The Huskies scored just about six minutes into the second half as junior forward/midfielder Megan Callan scored her first goal of the season after missing most of the season due to injury.
Then on came senior midfielder Allie Barber who led the way for Bloomsburg as she posted the Huskies’ next two goals off both of her two shots in the game. Barber’s first goal showed her speed as she darted down field and received a perfect pass from junior Megan Callan leaving Barber only to tap it in the net to give the Huskies their first lead of the afternoon.
In the sixty-ninth minute, Barber also showed both her shooting accuracy and ability as she buried it past the goalie from 25 yards out to give the Huskies a comfortable 3-1 lead in the post season matchup.
Barber also went on to create numerous more scoring opportunities throughout the contest. Her two second half tallies marked her team leading fifth and sixth goals of the 2018-19 season.
BU then found a late insurance goal in the 75th minute as Maggie McDonald just got it by the Slippery Rock goalkeeper off a pass from sophomore midfielder Lauren Hoelke. The goal made it 4-1 in favor of the Huskies as Bloomsburg had their eyes set on the semifinals.
Redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Jenna Hawkins made three saves in the victory and snatched her 13th win of the season. The Huskies improved to 14-2-2 (12-2-2 PSAC) on the year and Slippery Rock closed out their season with a 12-5-2 (10-4-2 PSAC) overall record.
The win also moved the Huskies up three spots in the latest United Soccer Coaches Division II national rankings, as BU moved from tenth to seventh overall in the country.
The Huskies will square off against PSAC foe West Chester in the semifinals of the PSAC tournament on Friday morning at 11 a.m. The winner will face the winner of the following match between Millersville and East Stroudsburg University, which starts at 1 p.m.
Since the Huskies are the top seed in the tournament, both semifinal matchups and the final will be hosted at Steph Pettit Stadium. The final is slated to start on Sunday at 1 p.m.
