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ERIE – Anthony Cerda (Budd Lake, NJ/Mount Olive)'s shot tucked inside the far post during the 87th minute was all the scoring in Friday afternoon's Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) semifinal contest and sent the Bloomsburg University men's soccer team to Saturday's conference championship game with a 1-0 victory over Seton Hill at Mercyhurst University.

The victory moves the second-seeded Huskies to 13-4-2 on the year while third-seeded Seton Hill falls to 12-6-2. The Huskies will play the top seed and host Mercyhurst Saturday afternoon at 1:30 after the Lakers defeated West Chester, 2-1, in double overtime during Friday's first semifinal contest.

After the sides played over 86 scoreless minutes, the Huskies finally broke through in the waning moments. Mike Bamford (Doylestown/Central Bucks West) started the scoring play by creating a header chance in front from the far wing for Cerda and the freshman did the rest – pushing his attempt past the Griffins keeper to the far post for his sixth goal of the year.

Defense had dominated the match prior to Bloomsburg breaking through. The teams played to a stalemate during the opening 45 minutes with neither side mounting a serious scoring threat. The sides went to halftime even in shots for the first half with three apiece, though the Huskies spent slightly more time in the Griffins zone and were awarded two corner kicks to Seton Hill's zero.

Bloomsburg had its first real opportunity in the 54th minute when a miss-hit by the Seton Hill keeper allowed the Huskies to take control near the top of the box – a deflected shot attempt led to a Huskies corner kick which resulted in a header attempt by Roma Loboda (Waverly/Abington Heights) from directly in front. Loboda's attempt sailed high, however, keeping things scoreless.

Seton Hill finally had a chance in the 56th minute, but its attack resulted in a blocked shot.

The first shot on goal of the game came in the 61st minute when Brett Milden (Mullica Hill, NJ/Clearview Regional) fired from the top right of the 18-yard box but the attempt was turned away by Seton Hill keeper Cameron Evans.

The Griffins did not create a shot on goal until the 65th minute against the stifling Bloomsburg defense. The Griffins had a corner attempt, but a shot from the far wing was swatted down by a leaping Jared Ott (Philadelphia/Archbishop Ryan).

Bloomsburg's next best effort came in the 68th minute when Josh Smith (Mechanicsburg/Mechanicsburg) collected a loose ball in front and shot on net, but was denied by Evans.

The Huskies finished with a 12-9 edge in shots and was awarded four corner kicks to Seton Hill's one.

Ott recorded the shutout, his school record-tying eighth of the season, with two saves. Evans also made two saves for Seton Hill.

GAME NOTES: Bloomsburg took a big step toward solidifying its NCAA Tournament resume as it entered the game ranked fifth in the Atlantic Region while Seton Hill was fourth. The top four teams receive NCAA Tournament bids … The Huskies only NCAA Tournament berth in school history came in 1978 ... With the win, the Huskies tie the school record for single season victories with 13, matching the 1979 team … Both teams entered the day on six-match winning streaks ... Ott ties the Huskies season shutout record with his eighth shutout of the year … Bloomsburg previously reached the PSAC final in 1977 and 2011 and is seeking its first conference championship in school history ... Bloomsburg defeated Seton Hill, 3-0, during the regular season ... The Huskies fell at Mercyhurst, 2-1, during the regular season.