Women's Soccer | 10/11/2022 2:14:00 PM
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Bloomsburg University women's soccer team is ranked as the No. 22 team in the nation according to the latest United Soccer Coaches National Poll that was released Tuesday afternoon.
Since the beginning of the season, the Huskies (10-3, 8-3 PSAC East) have been receiving votes in the national poll and the squad climbed back into the Top 25 rankings after securing two shutout victories over Mansfield and Shepherd last week.
On Wednesday, the women's soccer team posted a 2-0 victory over Mansfield thanks to goals by
Nicole Varano (Mt. Carmel, Pa./Mt. Carmel) and
Alivia Gallardo (Cherry Hill, N.J./Cherry Hill West). Then against Shepherd on Saturday, Bloomsburg cruised to a dominant 3-0 victory after receiving first-half goals by Varano,
Lauren Bull (Bloomsburg, Pa./Central Columbia),
Chloe Carns (York, Pa./Central York).
Varano, who was named the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division Athlete of the Week on Monday, is the team's leading scorer with eight goals. Varano's eight goals are tied for the most in the PSAC, and the graduate forward leads the league in game-winning goals with five. Her five game-winning goals are also tied for the fourth most in the nation.
The two shutout victories last week gives Bloomsburg a total of nine on the season, which ranks tied for the third most in all of Division II women's soccer. Goalkeeper
Riley Spingler (Langhorne, Pa./Neshaminy) has recorded seven of those shutouts, and the senior ranks second in the PSAC with her goals against average (.471) and third in the league with her .870 save percentage.
Paige Harris (Danville, Pa./Danville Area) is in a four-way tie as the league leader in assists with five, and the senior forward is second on the team in goals with two.
This season, the Huskies have received goals from 10 different players.
Bloomsburg also jumped to the No. 3 team in the Atlantic Region in the latest regional poll, which was released Tuesday.
Bloomsburg will be looking to win their third straight contest when it travels to Kutztown (7-2-3, 6-2-3 PSAC East) on Wednesday for a PSAC East contest. The game is scheduled to kick off at 3:00 PM.
