Box Score
BLOOMSBURG--The Bloomsburg men's soccer team held a two goal advantage but was unable to hold on as the Huskies (4-8-2, 2-4-2) fell, 3-2, to #4 Mercyhurst College (12-0-2, 3-0-2) in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) matchup on Tuesday night.
Before the game, Bloomsburg honored seniors John Fitzgerald V (Budd Lake, NJ, Mount Olive), Tom Kovack (Croydon, Conwell-Egan Catholic), and Tim Pfender (Langhorne, Neshaminy), who were playing in their final regular season game at Sports Stadium. The Huskies bid farewell to the trio and thanked them for their accomplishments and contributions to the Bloomsburg program.
The Huskies put the pressure on the nationally-ranked Lakers early, and less than ten minutes into the game, Kovak gained control in the Mercyhurst penalty area and danced his way around two defenders before firing his shot into the bottom left of the goal, giving Bloomsburg a 1-0 lead.
Sophomore Bryce Shaffer (Gettysburg, Gettysburg Area) extended the lead just over five minutes later. Shaffer collected the ball 30 yards from net and evaded the last Laker defender before landing his shot in the top left corner for a 2-0 advantage that would stand through halftime.
Bloomsburg's Bernie Roell (Douglassville, Daniel Boone) stopped all of the Lakers' first seven shots on net but was forced to retire from the game due to injury in the 31st minute. Freshman Ramon Lobo Jr. (Dillsburg, Northern) was called in as a replacement.
In the second half, Mercyhurst looked determined to take charge of the game. Five minutes in, Oliver Gage served up a corner kick, and after Lobo broke up the initial cross, Arash Fahandezh received a pass from Austin Soloman and slammed the ball home from less than five yards away, narrowing the lead to 2-1.
Less than a minute later, Mercyhurst's Alex Manea made a break down the left side but was challenged by two defenders. Meanwhile, Christopher Hampel found space on the weak side, and Manea crossed through his challengers for Hampel who fired the equalizer past a diving Lobo and into the bottom left corner.
The Lakers kept the momentum going and struck again in the 72nd minute. Manea passed to Hampel, who found his sweet spot again and scored his second of the night into the bottom left, giving Mercyhurst the 3-2 advantage.
Despite giving up the early goals, Mercyhurst's defense proved troublesome for the Huskies, who only managed three second-half shots and six in the game. Lobo went on to tally four saves of his own, while Diego Gustin recorded three saves for the Lakers.
Bloomsburg next travels to Chestnut Hill on Monday, September 25, for a non-conference game at 7 p.m.
