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BLOOMSBURG, Pa. - For the first time since the 2002 season, the Bloomsburg University women's soccer team will be playing for the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Championship.

The seventh-ranked Huskies extended their unbeaten streak to 13 consecutive matches as they advanced to the conference title match by virtue of a 2-0 advantage in penalty kicks over West Chester on Friday. The teams played to a 1-1 tie through two halves and two overtime periods and, while the match gets recorded as a tie in the record books, the Huskies got goals from sophomores Natalie Holmes (Laurel, Md./Archbishop Spalding) and Lauren Hoelke (Blackwood, N.J./Highland Regional) while redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Jenna Hawkins (Fleetwood, Pa./Fleetwood) did not allow a goal in the penalty kick round to move on to Sunday's championship match. Bloomsburg moved to 14-2-3 overall while the Golden Rams moved to 13-4-2.

Bloomsburg's 13-match unbeaten streak (10-0-3) is the program's longest since going 16-0-4 during a 20-game stretch in the 1998 season which was the second of three PSAC Championships in the school's history.

Holmes started with a goal in the opening round and Hawkins was able to make a stop on Nikki Caffey to give the Huskies a 1-0 advantage. Hoelke followed with a goal and West Chester's Madison Baxter missed wide on her shot attempt in the second round as Bloomsburg extended the advantage to 2-0. West Chester's Brooke Myers, who came on for the penalty kick round, was able to turn aside sophomores Hailey Arpin (Odenton, Md./Arundel) and Sam Rodkey (Selinsgrove, Pa./Selinsgrove) in the next two rounds to keep the Golden Rams alive. However, Kaitlyn McFadden hit the post on her third-round attempt and then Hawkins made a huge diving stop on Linzi Wolfe in the fourth round to propel the Huskies to the victory.

After a scoreless tie through the opening 45 minutes, sophomore Maggie McDonald (Burke, Va./West Potomac) wasted little time getting Bloomsburg on the board in the second half as she headed a shot past West Chester starting goalkeeper McKenna Mullin just 1:35 in to give the Huskies a 1-0 lead. It was McDonald's third goal of the season and second in as many postseason games as she scored a goal and added an assist in the quarterfinal victory over Slippery Rock on Tuesday. But, with just 4:33 left in regulation, the Golden Rams tied the match at 1-1 when Jenny Bail beat Hawkins for her third goal of the year off of an assist from Nikki Zaso.

Hawkins turned aside four shots in 110 minutes of action as her record moved to 13-2-3 on the season. Mullin stopped four shots through regulation and overtime before giving way to Myers for the penalty kicks. Myers recorded the decision as her record moved to 3-0-1. The Golden Rams also had a team save as Hoelke had a golden opportunity to get Bloomsburg on the board in the 20th minute as she had a look at a wide-open net before a West Chester defender made a stop on her shot with Mullin slightly out of position.

Bloomsburg held a 17-12 advantage in shots and also held a 5-3 margin in corner kicks.

The Huskies will meet seventh-seeded East Stroudsburg for the 2018 PSAC Women's Soccer Championship on Sunday afternoon. The Warriors have won four consecutive conference championships and have knocked off the #2 seed Kutztown and the #3 seed Millersville in back-to-back games during their postseason run in 2018. East Stroudsburg's Jessica Woodbyrne scored on a penalty kick in the second overtime on Friday to upset the Marauders, 3-2. Start time from Steph Pettit Stadium is slated for 1:00 p.m.

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