Tournament Information


BLOOMSBURG—The Bloomsburg University women's lacrosse team will begin defense of its 2012 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) championship title when it heads to Erie on Tuesday for the quarterfinal game at 4 p.m. against Mercyhurst.
 
The Huskies are 9-7 overall and 7-4 in the PSAC and clinched a playoff spot last Tuesday with a win over East Stroudsburg.
 
The team is coming off a 14-12 win over Millersville on Saturday which secured the fifth seed into the tournament.  The win was Bloomsburg's sixth straight victory.
 
Head coach Mallory Poole thinks the team is capable and hungry to make it to final four held at Lock Haven May 3rd-4th to defend the title they won just a year ago.
 
“Player performance wise we are peaking at a good time,” Poole said.  “Offensively things are clicking more consistently and defensively we are making good adjustments to get the ball back.  Overall the team is in a good place as far as how we are connecting across the field.”
 
This season the Huskies are led in points by and draw controls by Julie Falk (Millersville/Penn Manor).  She has recorded 36 goals and 13 assists good for 49 points.  Falk also has 66 draw controls placing her third in the PSAC.  Sam Mazzie (Barto/Boyertown) leads Bloomsburg in goals with 39 and adds 7 assists.
 
Sara Bates (Wading River, NY/Shoreham-Wading River) has started in goal every game for the Huskies this season and has made 111 saves for a .417 saves percentage.  She leads the team in groundballs with 43 ranking her seventh in the PSAC.  Carly Ball (Lansdale/North Penn) leads the Huskies in caused turnovers with 20.
 
Earlier this season the Huskies lost to Mercyhurst 11-10 when the Lakers scored with two seconds remaining to snag the win.
 
“Consistency in play is better than the last time we played Mercyhurst,” said Poole.  “We excited for a legitimate shot to redeem ourselves and make it to the semifinals and potentially to the title game.”
 
Mercyhurst's leading goal scorer is Kayla Minner who has 46 goals and 24 assists.  Rebecca Himes leads the team in assists with 35 and also adds 39 goals.
 
The winner of the game will play Lock Haven in the semifinals at Lock Haven Friday, May 3 at 4 p.m.
 
Last season the Huskies were the seeded sixth in the tournament and defeated Gannon in the quarterfinals, West Chester in the semifinals, and Mercyhurst in the finals to become the 2012 Champions.  Bloomsburg was the lowest seeded team to ever win a PSAC title.