BLOOMSBURG, Pa. – The Bloomsburg men's soccer team walked away with a dominant performance in a 3-1 victory over Shepherd Wednesday evening.
The Huskies fell behind early with an unfortunate deflection into the back of the net but responded well to the adversity. Bloomsburg rattled off 11 consecutive shots in the first half, including a headed goal from
Kody Besser (Lacey Township, N.J./Lacey Township) to tie the match.
Bloomsburg capitalized on its dominance in the contest with a pair of goals from
Owen Hollobaugh (State College, Pa./State College) to put the match out of reach in the final 45 minutes.
In total, Bloomsburg held several advantages over the Rams, finishing the night with a 15-2 shot advantage and an 8-0 edge in corner opportunities.
How It Happened:
The Huskies pushed forward with great intent.
Zach Morales (Orefield, Pa./Parkland) in his first start of the season found himself in several opportune scoring moments within the first 10 minutes.
The Bloomsburg high press proved effective all night in generating offensive momentum for the home side but left the Huskies vulnerable to an early counter-attacking opportunity from Shepherd. The Rams drove their attack down the right wing and looked for a cross that instead ricocheted off a defender and into the net.
After a couple of wide attempts from Bloomsburg, the home side found its answer with a patented set-piece chance. The Huskies struck gold again with a dead-ball play off the foot of
Braden Alicea (Huntingdon Valley, Pa./Lower Moreland) that curled in and found the leaping Besser in the middle of the penalty box.
Bloomsburg kept its foot on the gas by generating further chances in the attacking third, but could not take the lead before the end of the first half.
The Huskies surged forward in the second half, led by the efforts of Hollobaugh. The freshman tallied his first goal of the game after taking a nodded on cross from
Anthony Schlee (Baltimore, Md./Archbishop Curley) and firing it into the roof of the net for a 2-1 advantage just over a minute out of the break.
Continuing its high intensity and pressure, Bloomsburg found the clincher on the heels of
Sam Blumberger (Colchester, Conn./Bacon Academy). The sophomore went on a tremendous solo run starting in the Huskies defensive third, blowing by several defenders in the process. Along the right flank, Blumberger chopped inside to split two defenders before finding a streaking Hollobaugh at the back of the net for the freshman's second of the game
Hollobaugh became the first freshman for the Huskies since 2019 to record a multi-goal effort.
Sean Blatz (Whispering Pines, N.C./Union Pines) earned his first career victory in his first collegiate start against Shepherd, rebounding with two saves after the early own goal.
The victory on Wednesday marks the 12th consecutive win for Bloomsburg over the Rams.
On The Horizon:
Bloomsburg goes on the road in PSAC play for a contest at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, October 21, against Shippensburg.
