Women's Soccer | 11/9/2022 12:17:00 PM
WEST CHESTER, Pa. – The Bloomsburg University women's soccer team will make its fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance on Thursday when it travels to West Chester, Pa. for a first round game against West Virginia St. in the Atlantic Regional.
The Huskies (14-4-2, 11-3-2 PSAC East) are the No. 4 seed in the region while the Yellow Jackets (16-2-2, 13-1-2 MEC) are the No. 5 seed. Both squads received at-large bids to the NCAA Tournament on Monday after being knocked out of their respective conference tournaments in semifinal games, but that's where the similarities between the two teams end.
West Virginia St. is making its first-ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament and is led by a potent offense that ranks among the nation's leaders in several categories. Meanwhile, Bloomsburg will be making its 11
th NCAA Tournament appearance and the Huskies are led by one of the best defenses in the country.
Bloomsburg's back line is led by two all-conference defenders in
Lorelei Hartzfeld (Mount Wolf, Pa./Northeastern) and
Erin Ranegan (Wilmington, Del./Conrad School of Science), and the unit is anchored by All-PSAC goalkeeper
Riley Spingler (Langhorne, Pa./Neshaminy). The team's back line has also seen solid play throughout the year by
Lauren McIntyre (Perkasie, Pa./Pennridge) and
Gina Sexton (Langhorne, Pa./Neshaminy), and together the group of Huskies have held opponents scoreless 14 times (70%), which is tied for the second-most shutouts by any team in the country. Spingler ranks among the nation's leaders in save percentage (89%, 8
th), shutouts (11, T-5
th) and goals against average (.507 per game, 14
th).
For West Virginia St., the team's offense ranks 11
th in the country in total goals scored (54), 16
th in total points (144), and 18
th in total assists (36). The Yellow Jackets are led on the offensive end by one of the nation's top scorers in Fran Soares-Cupertino. The senior forward ranks sixth in Division II in points per game (2.21), 11
th in goals per game (.84), 13
th in total assists (10), and seventh in shots per game (4.63).
In addition to Soares-Cupertino, the Yellow Jackets have two more First Team All-MEC forwards in Esther Dhiramo and Brooklyn Pritt. Sophomore goalkeeper Laura Galindo, defenders Ingrid Barbosa de Castro and Maxima Bellscheidt, and junior midfielder Paula Herold also landed spots on the MEC All-Conference teams, earning second team honors.
Offensively for Bloomsburg, the team has received goals by 14 different players and are led by three All-PSAC selections in
Nicole Varano (Mt. Carmel, Pa./Mt. Carmel),
Alivia Gallardo (Cherry Hill, N.J./Cherry Hill West) and
Paige Harris (Danville, Pa./Danville Area). Varano leads the squad in goals with nine and her six game-winning scores are tied for the fourth-most in Division II. Gallardo is a First Team All-PSAC midfielder and has been a key facilitator for Bloomsburg's offense while contributing two goals this year, one of which was a game-winner earlier this year against the region's No. 7 seed Kutztown (9-5-4, 8-4-4 PSAC East). Harris is tied for first on the team in assists (5) with fellow Husky forward
Aubrey Hondros (Richboro, Pa./Council Rock South), and the senior has scored two game-winning goals this year.
West Virginia St. is coming off a dramatic 1-0 loss to the region's No. 6 seed Fairmont St. (12-3-4, 10-3-3 MEC) in the Mountain East Conference (MEC) Semifinal. The Falcons topped the Yellow Jackets by scoring the game's only goal with 13 seconds left to advance to the MEC Championship. Fairmont St. then beat the region's No. 2 seed Frostburg St. (18-1-2, 14-1-1 MEC) in the title game on penalty kicks after the contest was scoreless following 90 minutes of play and two overtime periods.
The Huskies fell to the region's No. 3 seed Gannon (14-3-4, 11-1-4 PSAC West) in a PSAC semifinal game last week. The Golden Knights then fell to West Chester (19-0-1, 15-0-1 PSAC East) in the PSAC title game, 3-0.
The first round game between Bloomsburg and West Virginia St. is scheduled to kick off at 1:00 PM at West Chester University's
Rockwell Field. West Chester is the No. 1 seed in the Atlantic Region and will host the winner of Thursday's first round game on Saturday at 1:00 PM.
Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for senior citizens (age 65 or older) and $1 for children under the age of five. All tickets will be sold onsite and must be purchased with cash.
