Field Hockey | 10/16/2018 7:35:00 PM

THE DETAILS
#9 Bloomsburg (7-3, 1-2 PSAC) at #1 West Chester (9-1, 4-0 PSAC)
Wednesday, October 17, 2018 - 4:00 p.m.
Vonnie Gros Field - West Chester, Pa.
 
GAME COVERAGE
Live Stats - CLICK HERE

RELATED LINKS
Bloomsburg - Schedule | Roster | Statistics
West Chester - Schedule | Roster | Statistics
 
STORYLINE
The ninth-ranked Bloomsburg University field hockey team heads to West Chester on Wednesday afternoon to test the top-ranked Golden Rams. The Huskies are currently on the outside looking in when it comes to the conference playoff picture as they come in with a 7-3 overall record but just a 1-2 mark in league action. The Golden Rams are 9-1 overall and 4-0 in the PSAC standings with their only loss coming against Stonehill on September 1 to open the season.
 
ALL-TIME SERIES
Bloomsburg is just 4-10 lifetime against the Golden Rams in the all-time series. Last season, the teams met three times with West Chester winning all three contests. The margins progressively got better with the Golden Rams winning by the scores of 5-1 and 3-1 during the regular season and then 1-0 in the PSAC quarterfinals which, ultimately, ended Bloomsburg's season. Caitlin Kelly scored the lone goal in the quarterfinal matchup just ten minutes into the contest. Dana Sheply (Maple Shade, N.J./Maple Shade) turned aside seven shots as the Golden Rams outshot the Huskies, 17-4.
 
SCOUTING BLOOMSBURG
The Huskies, who enter the week with a 7-3 overall record and ranked ninth in the latest Penn Monto/NFHCA Division II poll, went 1-1 last week as they split a pair of matches against East Stroudsburg and IUP. After a 3-0 loss to the second-ranked Warriors on Tuesday, Bloomsburg rebounded for a 2-1 overtime victory against the Crimson Hawks on Saturday evening for its first PSAC win of the year. Junior Ali McKay (Dover, Del./Polytech) scored her second goal of the year early in the second half to tie the contest and senior Tali Wehner (Bloomsburg, Pa./Bloomsburg) notched her first marker of the year with 1:58 left in the first overtime to win it for the Huskies. Sophomore Dana Sheply (Maple Shade, N.J./Maple Shade) made two saves in the win as the Huskies outshot the Crimson Hawks, 31-7. Junior Tesa Hoffman (Freeburg, Pa./Selinsgrove Area) leads the Huskies in scoring with career-highs in goals (5), assists (5), and points (15). She is tied for second in the PSAC in assists while ranking seventh in points per game (1.50) and tied for seventh in goals. Senior Erica Krebs (Bloomsburg, Pa./Central Columbia) has also established career-bests in goals (5), assists (3), and points (13) this season. Krebs is ninth in the league in points per game (1.30) and tied for seventh in goals. Ali McKay (Dover, Del./Polytech) is third on the team with two goals and three assists for seven points. A dozen other players have at least one point on the season - ten of those with at least one goal - to help a balanced scoring attack. In goal, Sheply and fellow sophomore Hannah Barnard (Vestal, N.Y./Vestal) have split time in goal. Barnard started the first five and is 4-1 with a 1.14 goals against average and an .824 save percentage. Sheply has started the last five and is 3-2 with a 0.98 goals against average and an .844 save percentage. Both are tied for third in the league with two shutouts apiece while the duo are one-two in the PSAC in save percentage.
 
SCOUTING WEST CHESTER
West Chester stands atop the latest Penn Monto/NFHCA Division II poll for another week after going 2-0 this past week with wins over Shippensburg and Mercyhurst. The Golden Rams defeated Shippensburg by a score of 4-2 on October 9 as they got two goals from Katie Thompson and one from both Catie McNamara and Kaitlin Hatch. The Golden Rams then went on to defeat Mercyhurst on Saturday afternoon in a tight 3-2 game. Thompson went on to find the back of the goal two more times in the win for her second consecutive two-goal game. Thompson was also involved in the last West Chester goal of the game as she assisted the goal from Emily Evans. For her efforts, Thompson is the reigning PSAC Athlete of the Week. She has taken over the team lead in scoring with eight goals and five assists for 21 points. Those figures have her tied for fourth in the league in goals, tied for second in assists, and tied for third in points per game (2.10). Hatch follows closely with eight goals and two assists for 18 points on the year. Emma Velez (four goals, three assists) is also in double figures with 11 points. Goalkeeper Marissa Elizardo has started all ten games for the Golden Rams in 2018 and is 9-1 with a 1.09 goals against average and a .792 save percentage. She is second in the league with four shutouts and ranks in the top ten in goals against average, save percentage, and saves per game (4.20).
 
UP NEXT
Bloomsburg returns home on Saturday, October 20, to host the fifth-ranked Raiders of Shippensburg University. Start time is scheduled for 11:00 a.m.

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