Box Score (HTML)

CHARLESTON, W. Va. – When the NCAA Division II Men's Soccer Tournament bracket was announced earlier this week revealing that Bloomsburg would travel to No. 1 Charleston (WV), the Huskies knew they were in for the biggest challenge of the year against a Golden Eagles squad that entered undefeated and had trailed for just seven minutes all year.
 
Charleston (19-0-1) proved why it has risen to the top spot in the nation on Saturday night at cold Schoenbaum Stadium, continuing its dominance by ending the Huskies' season with a 5-0 victory in the second round of the national tournament.
 
The loss ends the Huskies memorable season with a 13-6-2 overall record, tying the school record for wins while reaching the NCAA Tournament for just the second time in program history and first since 1978.
 
The Golden Eagles put their dynamic attack on display quickly, striking in the fifth minute as stellar forward Augusto Maciel received a cross in front from Will Roberts and scored for the first goal.
 
The Huskies controlled much of the pace of play during the opening period, however. Bloomsburg had its first chance in the 12th minute when Austin Transue (Langhorne/Neshaminy) worked himself into a breakaway, however, the play was whistled dead due to offsides. Nick Izzo (Frankford, DE/Indian River) fired on net five minutes later, but the ball flew just over the top of the crossbar.
 
Then, in the 16th minute, Transue fired from in front but was denied by Charleston keeper Fabian Veit.
 
Charleston took advantage of a Huskies foul in the 19th minute as Roberts cashed in with a penalty kick goal for the 2-0 edge.
 
The Huskies had a chance in the 28th minute with a flurry as Josh Smith (Mechanicsburg/Mechanicsburg) had a header shot following a corner kick from Nate Conrad (Enola/East Pennsboro), but Smith's shot was blocked. Just seven seconds later, Smith shot again but it flew high.
 
In the 33rd minute, Charleston's Bruno Oliveira had a two-on-one advantage, but Jared Ott (Philadelphia/Archbishop Ryan) made the save on Oliveira to end that threat and send the teams to intermission at 2-0.
 
Bloomsburg held its own with the nation's top team, which entered the day having outscored opponents 74-9 for the year, though. Both teams finished the first period of play with six total shots and two corner kicks.
 
Charleston began to overpower the Huskies in the second half, however. The Golden Eagles took complete control of the match with a pair of goals within three minutes of each other – Renan Ramos found the net in the 53rd minute and Charleston picked up insurance in the 57th minute on a score from Felipe Antonio.
 
Maciel scored his second of the night in the 67th minute to put the match on ice.
 
Bloomsburg continued to battle in the waning minutes – the Golden Eagles keeper miss-hit a ball to allow Transue to take over, but the redshirt sophomore's shot attempt went high with four minutes to play. In the 87th minute, Cameron Cleary (Pleasanton, CA/Amador Valley) had a look, but that shot also went high.
 
Charleston finished with a 15-10 lead in total shots while both teams were awarded four corner kicks.
 
Ott made five saves for the Huskies while Veit, a finalist for national goalkeeper of the year, also made five stops.
 
Smith led the Huskies with four shots on the night while Samuel Izzo (Frankford, DE/Indian River) finished with a pair of shots on goal.
 
Charleston advances to the third round of the national tournament and will play the winner of Sunday's Mercyhurst-Notre Dame (OH) match. For the Huskies, they return a nucleus of 13 freshmen while graduating two players – seniors Nate Conrad (Enola/East Pennsboro) and Roma Loboda (Waverly/Abington Heights).