CLOVER, S.C. – The Bloomsburg University field hockey team opened the season with a 2-0 win over Belmont Abbey College in the first of three games in South Carolina.
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The Huskies out-shot Belmont Abbey 17-10 for the day, though the Crusaders held a slight 7-5 advantage in shots on goal. Senior goalie
Abby Shaffer (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin) had a strong opening game for the Huskies, stopping all seven shots she saw.
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Junior
Sam Schaffer (Vestal, N.Y./Vestal) and sophomore
Bella Culp (Dauphin, Pa./Central Dauphin) led the Huskies with three shots, while senior
Meghan Longenhagen (Catawissa, Pa./Southern Columbia) and sophomore
Aydan McFarland (Bloomsburg, Pa./Bloomsburg Area) provided the two goals for Bloomsburg.
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After a scoreless first half, Longenhagen got the Huskies on the board with the first goal of the season for BU and the fifth of her career just 1:51 into the second half. Midway through the quarter, Shaffer kept the Crusaders off the scoreboard with a save before the Huskies' defense blocked a shot off a penalty corner with just over five minutes to play in the period.
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The Huskies' defense and Shaffer stepped up to the challenge as the Crusaders were awarded three penalty corners in two minutes of gameplay and took four shots. Shaffer made a pair of saves in that timeframe while her defense blocked a couple of shots.
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McFarland gave the Huskies some breathing room just over three minutes into the final quarter as she scored off a pass from Culp at the 48:14 mark, just 14 seconds after checking into the game.
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The Huskies kept Belmont Abbey off kilter for the rest of the game, allowing just one shot in the fourth quarter – a strike off a penalty corner with just under nine minutes to play that Shaffer stopped.
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Sophomore
Kara Koch (Lewisburg, Pa./Lewisburg Area) got one final shot off for the Huskies with 90 seconds to play, but her shot was blocked, and the Huskies walked away with a 2-0 win.
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Bloomsburg returns to action on Saturday when the Huskies visit Newberry College for an 11:00 a.m. contest in Newberry, S.C.
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