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ERIE – Second half goals scored by
Angie DeBellis (Zionsville/Emmaus) and
Brittany Mathews (Reedsville/Indian Valley) propelled the Bloomsburg University field hockey team to its third consecutive victory, a 2-0 shutout win at Mercyhurst on Saturday evening at Tullio Field.
Sixth-ranked Bloomsburg (12-6, 7-3 PSAC) capped its regular season by playing to a first half draw with No. 10 Mercyhurst (9-9, 4-6). Mercyhurst held the 7-3 edge in shots during the first period, playing a BU team that had made the long trip across the state to Erie.
Bloomsburg received a charge from DeBellis at the 55:35 mark when she tallied her second goal of the year off a penalty corner, deflecting in a shot from the right side.
Mathews came through with her 10th score of the season 13 minutes later – giving the Huskies some insurance with a hard shot from the middle of the circle for the game's second and final goal.
Megan Eppley (Camp Hill/Camp Hill) made four saves to earn the shutout in the cage.
The Lakers, which needed a victory to earn a berth in the PSAC Tournament, held a 12-8 edge in shots, but the shots were even (5-5) during the second period. Both teams earned eight penalty corners during the contest.
Kirsten Rambo made five saves for Mercyhurst.
Bloomsburg entered the day already locked in as the fourth seed in next week's PSAC Tournament. The Huskies will host fifth-seeded IUP, which clinched a playoff berth with an upset win over Millersville earlier on Saturday, at Sports Stadium on Tuesday, Nov. 5 in the PSAC First Round. That contest is scheduled for a 4 p.m. start. The Huskies and Crimson Hawks are quite familiar with each other – Bloomsburg scored a 2-1 overtime win at IUP this past Tuesday.
Shippensburg and Millersville have clinched first round byes and await the outcome of Tuesday's games. West Chester will be the third seed and host sixth-seeded East Stroudsburg when the conference tournament gets underway Tuesday. Saturday's loss knocked Mercyhurst out of post-season contention.
