Box Score (HTML)
BLOOMSBURG -
Spencer Conrad (Enola/East Pennsboro) found the back of the net 38 seconds into overtime to send the Huskies to a dramatic 2-1 victory over visiting Gannon on Wednesday afternoon at Steph Pettit Stadium.
The decision gives the Huskies a crucial Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) victory as Bloomsburg, ranked fourth in the Atlantic Region, and the Golden Knights entered the day as part of a six-way tie atop the conference standings. Bloomsburg moves to 6-2-2 overall and 4-1-0 in the PSAC with the win while Gannon falls to 4-6-0, 3-2-0.
Anthony Cerda (Budd Lake, NJ/Mount Olive) started the game-winning attack by driving inside the 18 yard box, then passed to Conrad who shot from the right of the box, beating the diving Gannon keeper to the lower left of the net for the deciding tally.
It was the second goal of the day and fourth of the year for Conrad, who first gave the Huskies the lead shortly after intermission.
Brett Milden (Mullica Hill, NJ/Clearview Regional) drove to the center of the box, then passed back to Conrad at the top of the box where the junior fired into the net for a 1-0 lead at 48'.
The Golden Knights threatened in the 61st minute, when Robbie Bennett tried to fire to the far right of the net, but Bloomsburg goalkeeper
Jared Ott (Philadelphia/Archbishop Ryan) got a hand on the ball, punching it away. Following a Gannon corner kick, Tyron Springer followed with a header attempt that was deflected away by
Mike Bamford (Doylestown/Central Bucks West) to end the threat.
Bloomsburg tried for insurance in the 68th minute, but a shot from in front by
Austin Transue (Langhorne/Neshaminy) was denied with a great diving save by Gannon's Manuel Mangu.
Gannon knotted the score in the 70th minute. Bennett, one of the leading scorers in the PSAC, added to his season total with his seventh goal of the year after taking a long service in from Ryan Mershimer and then drawing the goalkeeper out of the net, finishing by evading the keeper with nifty footwork and then shooting to the lower left of the net for the tie.
The game nearly saw a deciding score late in regulation when Cerda shot from the top of the 18 yard box on the run, but the attempt slipped wide in the 84th minute.
Windy conditions caused some havoc on cross attempts, making control of the ball difficult throughout the afternoon.
The Huskies had their best chance of the first half in the 18th minute when a Gannon foul set up Bloomsburg with a free kick taken by
Samuel Izzo (Frankford, DE/Indian River). Izzo passed in front to
Josh Smith (Mechanicsburg/Mechanicsburg) who headed to
Brett Milden (Mullica Hill, NJ/Clearview Regional) on the close left wing. Milden made a header attempt from less than five yards out, but it flew just wide of the net.
Gannon led in shots, 6-2, during the first period, but the Huskies turned the tide after halftime by outshooting the visitors 11-6 after intermission to finish with a 13-12 edge for the contest. Bloomsburg also led in corner kicks awarded by an 8-1 margin.
Ott made four saves in net to move to 6-2-1 on the season while Mangu made two saves in his first start for Gannon.
Next up is another important PSAC contest when the Huskies travel to Erie to play at Mercyhurst, ranked second in the Atlantic Region, on Saturday at 3:00 p.m.
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