The fifth-ranked Bloomsburg University women's soccer team returns home on Wednesday night to battle the Warriors of East Stroudsburg in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division opener for both teams. The game is a rematch of last season's epic PSAC Championship contest which saw the Huskies earn a 2-1 overtime victory over the Warriors to earn Bloomsburg's first conference title since 2002.
NEW LOOK
With the addition of Shepherd to the PSAC, the sport of women's soccer will be split into an Eastern and Western Division for the first time since 2009. Both divisions will consist of nine teams while the top four teams of each division will earn a spot in the PSAC postseason.
ALL-TIME SERIES
Bloomsburg leads the all-time series against East Stroudsburg, 27-10-3. Last season, the teams met three times with the Huskies earning one-goal victories in all three contests. During the regular season, Bloomsburg won 1-0 in East Stroudsburg on a goal from
Mackenzie Gebhardt (Pennsburg, Pa./Upper Perkiomen) with less than five minutes left in regulation. The Huskies then earned their 2-1 overtime victory in the PSAC Championship on goals from
Jessica Milligan (Perkasie, Pa./Pennridge) (84th minute) and
Erin Bielski (York, Pa./Century (Md.)) (98th minute) after Alex Pickett scored in the 83rd minute to give the Warriors a 1-0 lead. Finally, the teams met a third time, this time in the second round of the NCAA tournament with the Huskies, again, winning by a final of 1-0. Gebhardt scored in the 22nd minute and the Bloomsburg defense made the goal stand. The Huskies went on to win the Atlantic Regional before bowing to Bridgeport in the Elite Eight.
RANKINGS
Bloomsburg is ranked fifth in the country according to the latest United Soccer Coaches poll released on Tuesday afternoon. East Stroudsburg, meanwhile, is listed among other teams receiving votes.
SCOUTING BLOOMSBURG
The Huskies opened the 2019 campaign with back-to-back 3-0 shutout victories against Edinboro and Goldey-Beacom to start the year with a 2-0 record. Bloomsburg got two goals from sophomore
Nicole Varano (Mt. Carmel, Pa./Mt. Carmel) in Thursday's win over the Fighting Scots and then got two goals from junior
Jamie Marsico (Elizabethtown, Pa./Elizabethtown) during Saturday's blanking of the Lightning. Redshirt junior goalkeeper
Jenna Hawkins (Fleetwood, Pa./Fleetwood) had four saves in each victory and earned the PSAC East Co-Defensive Athlete of the Week for her efforts. Varano leads the Huskies with three goals and six points on the season as she also scored in the win at Goldey-Beacom on Saturday. Marsico is second with two goals for four points while a trio of players - junior
Maggie McDonald (Alexandria, Va./West Potomac) (one goal), senior
Jessica Milligan (Perkasie, Pa./Pennridge) (two assists), and junior
Lauren Hoelke (Blackwood, N.J./Highland Regional) (two assists) - have two points apiece.
SCOUTING EAST STROUDSBURG
The Warriors had little trouble in their season opener as they routed Chestnut Hill by a 6-0 final last Saturday afternoon. Six different players scored goals for East Stroudsburg with Jessica Woodbyrne earning the game-winning tally on a penalty kick in the tenth minute. The Warriors broke the game open with five goals in the second half to cruise to the win. East Stroudsburg held a 35-4 advantage in shots as Mauri Jackson needed to make only save in goal to earn the shutout victory.
UP NEXT
Bloomsburg will travel to Mansfield University on Saturday, September 14, for a conference contest against the Mountaineers. Start time is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.
