STORYLINE
The Bloomsburg University field hockey team looks to pick up its first victory of the young season as it heads to IUP on Saturday afternoon to battle the Crimson Hawks in a non-conference matchup. The Huskies are 0-2 on the season while IUP enters with a 2-0 record.
ALL-TIME SERIES
The Huskies lead the all-time series against the Crimson Hawks, 48-9-1. Bloomsburg has won three straight and 12 of the last 13 contests between the two schools dating back to the 2009 season. Last year, the Huskies got an overtime goal from
Tali Wehner (Bloomsburg, Pa./Bloomsburg) en route to a 2-1 victory over the Crimson Hawks at Miller Stadium. Hannah Miller gave IUP an early lead before
Ali McKay (Dover, Del./Polytech) tied the game at 1-1 just under seven minutes into the second half which led the Wehner's heroics. Bloomsburg held a 31-7 advantage in shots and a whopping 26-4 edge in penalty corners.
SCOUTING BLOOMSBURG
The Huskies were ranked ninth in the country according to the Penn Monto/National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) preseason poll but have dropped two straight to open the 2019 campaign. Last Sunday, Bloomsburg dropped a 2-1 overtime decision at home against Bellarmine Sophomore
Foto Tsioles (Kingston, Pa./Wyoming Valley West) scored the lone Bloomsburg goal early in the fourth quarter off of an assist from senior
Rachael Strockbine (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley). Junior
Hannah Barnard (Vestal, N.Y./Vestal) was credited with five saves on the afternoon. Then, on Wednesday, the Huskies fell 5-1 at #2 West Chester but a pair of freshmen -
Meghan Longenhagen (Catawissa, Pa./Southern Columbia) and
Abby Shaffer (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin) - provided a spark for the young team. Longenhagen scored her first career goal while Shaffer turned aside 11 shots in her first career start. Bloomsburg has been outshot, 29-28, through two games but holds a 24-12 edge in penalty corners.
SCOUTING IUP
The Crimson Hawks are 2-0 to open the 2019 campaign after earning a 5-1 victory over Frostburg State last Saturday and a 1-0 shutout at Mansfield on Wednesday. Blaise Cugini is off to a fast start with two goals and two assists in the two games. Both of her goals came in the win over Frostburg State. Brianna Lubarsky, Georgiana Chiavacci, Lizzi Clemmer, and Julia Davis also have goals. In goal, Lexi Ciano has started both games and has not allowed a goal while posting five saves.
UP NEXT
Bloomsburg returns home on Wednesday, September 18, to host East Stroudsburg University in a non-conference contest at Steph Pettit Stadium. Start time is scheduled for 4:00 p.m.
