BLOOMSBURG, Pa. – The Bloomsburg University men's soccer team extended its winning streak to eight as it shut out Shepherd 3-0 during a home Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division contest Wednesday evening at Steph Pettit Stadium.
 
The win keeps Bloomsburg (12-2-1, 7-1-1 PSAC East) on top of the PSAC East standings, and it gives the Huskies a chance to clinch the top spot in the division with a win at West Chester (8-4-2, 5-2-2 PSAC East) on Saturday.
 
Bloomsburg jumped out to a lead in the 18^th minute when Shay Gillen (Archbald, Pa./Valley View) scored his third goal of the season. The freshman was set up by a nice pass in front of the net that came from Liam Harmon (Bloomsburg, Pa./Bloomsburg Area), who dribbled his way past multiple Shepherd (1-9-6, 0-7-3 PSAC East) defenders during the possession. 
 
In the closing minute of the half, Bloomsburg was able to score on its last possession of the opening frame to extend its lead to 2-0 before the break. The scoring opportunity began when a free kick was cleared out to midfield by Shepherd's back line and Bloomsburg's Mackenzie Fairs (Uckfield, England/Palmyra Area) gathered possession of the ball. Fairs then sent a perfectly placed lob pass from midfield into the box and a running Teagan Wallace (Lumberton, N.J./Rancocas Valley Regional) was able to strike the ball out of the air and into the back of the net with a leaping header. 
 
The goal was Wallace's first of the season, and it gave the Huskies all the momentum heading into halftime. With the goal, Wallace also becomes the 12^th different person on the Huskies to score this season. 
 
The Huskies continued to dominate in the second half as they finished the game outshooting the Rams by a final count of 19-9. It wasn't until the 80^th minute, however, that Bloomsburg would stretch its lead again. 
 
In the 80^th minute, Harmon capped off Bloomsburg's offensive performance by scoring his third goal of the year. The graduate forward was able to strike the ball from outside of the box right into the bottom right-hand corner of the goal and past a sliding Shepherd goalkeeper for the score. Harmon's goal was set up by Sammy Ames (Holly Ridge, N.C./Dixon), who recorded his second assist of the season with the pass. 
 
Shepherd had a handful of scoring opportunities throughout the game – its first being 15 minutes in when the score was still tied at zero. The chance to get on the scoreboard first came when Andrew West pushed the ball to his teammate, Louis Aulick, in the open field. Aulick was able to get a clean shot off and sent it towards the bottom left-hand side of the goal, but Bloomsburg goalkeeper Brady Rimple (Cherryville, Pa./Northampton Area) was able to dive and hang onto the shot for the save.
 
Rimple finished the game with three saves on three chances and came away with his fifth shutout of the season, which ranks as the second-most in the PSAC. In addition, Rimple's save percentage rose to .802, which ranks second in the conference. 
 
Bloomsburg will look to make it nine straight wins when they try to clinch the top spot in the PSAC East on Saturday against West Chester. The conference showdown against the Golden Rams will kick off at 12:00 PM.