The Bloomsburg University women's soccer team will head to No. 1 seed (West) Gannon for a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Semifinal game on Friday. The contest will kick off at 3:00 PM, and it will be the second semifinal game of the day as No. 1 seed West Chester (East) and No. 2 seed Mercyhurst (West) square off at 12:00 PM. 

The Game

The Huskies (14-3-2, 11-3-2 PSAC East) will enter Friday's game as the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Division and the club is coming off a 2-0 victory over No. 3 seed Kutztown in a home quarterfinals game on Tuesday. Likewise, Gannon won its quarterfinals game by a score of 2-0 and scored both of its goals in the second half as they beat No. 4 seed Seton Hill at home on Tuesday.

Both teams come into the contest flexing very different strengths at each end of the pitch. For Gannon, the team's stout offense has been its key to winning 13 games this season as the team's 36 goals (1.9 per game) are the second most in the PSAC. On the flip side, Bloomsburg's impenetrable defense has only allowed seven goals all year (.37 per game) and that ranks as the second fewest in the league. Additionally, that mark ranks as the third lowest in all of Division II.

Continued Success

Bloomsburg's postseason appearance is its eighth straight under head coach Matt Haney. Additionally, the Huskies are looking to defend their 2021 PSAC Title this postseason while also trying to win their third in four seasons. 

Over the past four seasons including this year, the Huskies have gone 65-14-8 with two PSAC Championships. Additionally, the team has qualified for the past three NCAA Tournaments. 

Sharing The Wealth

Despite being led on offense by the league's second-leading scorer in Nicole Varano, the Huskies have had a total of 13 different players record a goal this season. Varano leads the team with nine while Lauren Bull and Brooke Foster are both tied for second on the team with three. 

Paige Harris and Aubrey Hondros both have five assists, and that is tied for the most on the team. Campbell Power has four assists to go along with one goal. 

Defense Wins Games (And Championships)

During the past few seasons, Bloomsburg's strong defensive unit has been a major key during the program's past few PSAC Championship runs. This season, the Huskies' defensive unit is once again leading them to victory, and that side of the ball is being led by senior goalkeeper Riley Spingler.

Spingler ranks among the best in the nation in several major statistics and has been as reliable as it gets defending the net. Spingler currently ranks fourth in the country in saves percentage (.903) and is tied for eighth in all of Division II with 10 complete-game shutouts. 

In addition to Spingler in net, a tough defensive back line that features Lauren McIntyre, Erin Ranegan, Lorelei Hartzfeld and Gina Sexton has helped Bloomsburg record 13 of its 14 victories by way of a shutout.  

Scouting the Golden Knights

Offensively, Gannon is paced by the PSAC's leading scorer in Sarah Fails. In 19 games this season, Fails has recorded a league-high 10 goals (.526 per game) and the senior forward averages a conference-high 3.63 shots per game. Fails has the second-most game-winning goals in the conference with five this season. She trails only Varano, who has the most in the PSAC with six.

In addition ot Fails, Gannon has three more players who have been dangerous on the offensive end throughout 2022. Ella Fadale has scored six goals this year and her teammate, Gabby Boden, has scored four times to go along with her team-high six assists. Holly Gray is also tied with Boden for third on the team in goals with four.  

In net, Gannon's Kennedy Solymosi has started 16 games and has allowed just 12 goals (0.87 goals against average) while collecting 59 saves. Solymosi is 10-2-4 while in net for the Golden Knights this year. 

Survive And Advance

In the single-elimination playoff format, the loser of Friday's contest will be eliminated from the conference tournament while the winner will advance to the championship game on Sunday. The winner will play either Mercyhurst or West Chester.