HARTSVILLE, S.C. – A late fourth-quarter goal for the Bloomsburg University field hockey team was not enough as the Coker University Cobras hung on for a 3-2 win over the Huskies Monday afternoon. The Huskies dropped to 1-2 for the year, while the Cobras opened the season 1-0.
 
After a scoreless first half, Coker broke through first in the third quarter as Sydney Call got a strong pass off a penalty corner from Delaney Mitchell and could find the back of the cage just 1:40 into action.
 
The lead was short-lived, however, as the Huskies were awarded a penalty stroke after a shot by Kate Ferguson (Harrisburg, Pa./Susquehanna Township) was blocked. Meg Barnard (Vestal, N.Y./Vestal) buried the stroke, and the Huskies tied the game at 1-1 with 11 minutes to play in the quarter.
 
The Cobras answered with a penalty stroke goal of their own by Kaiya Sabur midway through the quarter to retake the lead 2-1. The Huskies had two penalty corners in the final five minutes of the quarter but couldn't convert, and Coker carried its 2-1 lead into the final frame.
 
With five minutes to play in regulation, the Cobras extended their lead with another goal by Kaiya Sabur after a pair of penalty corners kept the ball in Coker's offensive zone.
 
Senior Meghan Longenhagen (Catawissa, Pa./Southern Columbia) got one back for the Huskies as she found the back of the cage with 53 seconds to play, but the Huskies couldn't get another offensive play to pan out, and the Cobras hung on for the 3-2 win.
 
The Cobras out-shot Bloomsburg 14-6 for the game, including a 6-2 advantage in shots on goal. Senior goalie Abby Shaffer (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin) made three saves, all in the first quarter, for the Huskies.
 
Barnard led the team in shots with two, while Longenhagen, Ferguson, Aydan McFarland (Bloomsburg, Pa./Bloomsburg Area), and Emily Swineford (Mt. Pleasant Mills, Pa./Selinsgrove Area) all had one.
 
The Huskies return home for the first time in 2022 as they host the University of New Haven on Friday, September 9, at 3:00 p.m. The game is Bloomsburg's Suicide Prevention Game, and the Huskies will collect donations for Morgan's Message. This education program strives to eliminate the stigma surrounding mental health within the student-athlete community and equalize the treatment of physical and mental health in athletics.