BLOOMSBURG, Pa. - Redshirt freshman
Nathan Slotnick (Yardley, Pa./Pennsbury) turned aside a career-high nine shots to help the Bloomsburg University men's soccer team to a 2-0 victory during a rain-filled Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division showdown at Steph Pettit Stadium on Wednesday. With the victory, the Huskies improved to 5-7-0 overall and 4-3-0 in divisional play while the Raiders dropped to 1-5-3 overall and 1-4-1 in the league standings.
The match was scoreless until 1:31 left in the opening half when freshman
Foti Malitas (Warrington, Pa./Central Bucks South) banged home a rebound past Shippensburg goalkeeper Bradley Brickman for his first collegiate goal which gave the Huskies a 1-0 advantage. Junior
Carter Luckenbaugh (York, Pa./Central York) was credited with the assist as his initial shot ricocheted off the far post but right to the foot of Malitas who got the hosts on the scoreboard.
However, during the celebration, Malitas was tagged with his second yellow card of the contest which forced the Huskies to play a man down from that point on.
Bloomsburg got some breathing room in the 57th minute when a foul in the box created a penalty kick opportunity for the Huskies. Senior
Tyler Madeira (Schnecksville, Pa./Parkland) took the shot and beat Brickman for his team-leading sixth goal of the season which extended the Bloomsburg advantage to 2-0.
Playing a man up in the second half, the Raiders were on the attack for much of the final 45 minutes but Slotnick and the Bloomsburg defense was equal to the task. Shippensburg outshot Bloomsburg, 16-3, in the second half and held an 11-1 margin in corner kick opportunities over the final stanza but could not dent the scoreboard. All told, the Raiders led in shots, 21-12, and in corner kicks, 14-2.
Slotnick evened his record at 2-2 on the season with his nine-save shutout performance - his second whitewashing of the season. Brickman suffered the loss as he fell to 1-4-2 on the year after turning aside three Bloomsburg shots.
The Huskies will return to action on Saturday, October 19, when they host East Stroudsburg University in a huge contest at Steph Pettit Stadium. The top three teams in each division will advance to the conference tournament and the Huskies currently hold down the third spot in the east with a two-point lead over the fourth-place Warriors. Kickoff is slated for 2:00 p.m.
