SHIPPENSBRUG, Pa. – For the first time in seven years, the Bloomsburg University men's soccer team will be heading the postseason, and they will be doing so as the No. 1 seed in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division after locking up the top spot in the standings with a 3-2 win over Shippensburg Wednesday evening.
 
The Huskies (13-3-1, 8-2-1 PSAC East) received three goals from separate players in the win over the Raiders (4-7-4, 0-7-4 PSAC East), and Bloomsburg was able to clinch the No. 1 seed with one game left to play after West Chester (9-5-2, 6-3-2 PSAC East) fell to East Stroudsburg (7-8-2, 6-3-2 PSAC East). 
 
As the No. 1 seed in the East, Bloomsburg will have a first-round bye and host the PSAC Semifinals and Championship next weekend at Steph Pettit Stadium. Two semifinal games will be played on Friday, Nov. 4, and the championship game will be played on Sunday, Nov. 6. Times and opponents for the contests are to be determined.
 
During Wednesday's contest, the Huskies got out to a quick advantage when Teagan Wallace (Lumberton, N.J./Rancocas Valley Regional) scored his second goal of the season less than 90 seconds into the contest. Wallace was able to score the first goal of the game when he gathered a loose ball just outside of the box after it was sent out by Shippensburg's back line during a free kick. The sophomore was able to get a clean kick on the ball and sent it into the bottom right-hand corner of the net on the ground and underneath a sliding Raider goalkeeper. 
 
Freshman Shay Gillen (Archbald, Pa./Valley View) then gave Bloomsburg a two-score lead five minutes later when he sent a laser into the top right-hand corner of the net after receiving a pass in the box from Braden Alicea (Huntingdon Valley, Pa./Lower Moreland). The goal was Gillen's fourth of the season, and Alicea's assist was the second of his career.
 
Shippensburg would strike back, however, and make it a game despite falling behind by two goals early on. The Raiders were able to cut the deficit in half when Chase Estes scored a goal in the 22^nd minute to make it a 2-1 game at halftime. Then in the second half, Shippensburg tied things up when Ashton Davies delivered a score during a penalty kick that was awarded in the 57^th minute.
 
After a hot start on offense in the first half, Bloomsburg struggled to create a ton of scoring opportunities in the second half. The Huskies had seven shots in the first half and only one in the final frame, but the team's only shot of the second half proved to be the difference maker as it turned out to be a game-winning goal that Sammy Ames (Holly Ridge, N.C./Dixon) scored in the 71^st minute.
 
Ames scored the go-ahead goal after getting behind Shippensburg's back line and receiving a timely pass by Gillen in front of the net. From there, Ames sent a shot on the ground just by Shippensburg's outstretched goalkeeper and inside the near post to score his sixth goal of the season and put Bloomsburg on top 3-2. 
 
In net, sophomore goalkeeper Brady Rimple (Cherryville, Pa./Northampton Area) held Shippensburg's offense to just two goals on nine shot attempts as he helped the Huskies hang on to their one-score lead for the final 20 minutes. 
 
For the game, Shippensburg outshot Bloomsburg 9-8 and both teams had five shots on goal. Bloomsburg took nine corner kicks opposed to Shippensburg's two, and the Huskies had three saves while the Raiders had two. 
 
The win for Bloomsburg is its 13^th of the season, which is one short of tying the program's single-season wins record of 14. 
 
The Huskies will have a chance to tie the single-season wins record on Saturday when they host Millersville (9-3-5, 5-2-4 PSAC East). The game will be Senior Night and is scheduled to kick off at 7:00 PM.