BLOOMSBURG, Pa. - No. 25 Bloomsburg men's soccer secured a 1-0 win at Steph Pettit Stadium on Saturday against West Chester to take sole possession atop the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division standings.

The Huskies snapped a proverbial curse against the Golden Rams as the team captured its first win over West Chester since a 2-0 victory at Steph Pettit Stadium on October 19, 2019. With the victory, the Huskies reached double-digit wins for the third consecutive year under head coach Mark Bassett. It is the first time since the 1995-97 seasons Bloomsburg men's soccer has won 10 or more games in three consecutive seasons. 

Bloomsburg improves to 10-2-1 on the season and holds a 5-1-1 record in conference action. West Chester is now 7-4-2 overall and 4-2 in the PSAC East. 

How It Happened:
Both teams managed to generate opportunities in the first half. Past the halfway point, the Golden Rams focused on maintaining possession and creating their scoring chances. The Huskies had the first chance of the half after Owen Hollobaugh (State College, Pa./State College) dispossessed West Chester in its half with relentless pressing. The forward worked his way down the line to center a pass for Alex Wilsterman (Orefield, Pa./Parkland), who came on a bit too strong, sending the first shot high. Patrick Walsh (Macungie, Pa./Emmaus) followed up the early pressure with a header wide left to keep the early offense going.

The Golden Rams had their best opportunity of the match in the 11th minute off a tremendous pass on the counter-attack. West Chester's David Sierra put a perfectly balanced ball into the box for Owen Slack, with his tap on goal parried by goalkeeper Brady Rimple (Cherryville, Pa./Northampton Area). Maksym Komperda found himself inside the box with the ball at his feet, but the Golden Ram's leading goalscorer pounded the ball into the turf. The ball rolled back to Slack at the far post, unable to put away the chance due to the defensive efforts of Walsh. 

The sides traded opportunities, with Wilsterman and the Huskies having several opportunities for a goal in the box, while West Chester similarly had multiple chances with players in the box to put away the opening goal. Jason Goldfeder kept Rimple on his toes through the final 15 minutes of the opening half, forcing the Huskies' shot-stopper to make a pair of saves. 

The first 15 minutes of the second half played out like much of the first, with both sides trading chances in search of the first goal. Creeping into the 71st minute, Bloomsburg finally broke the deadlock amid a mad scramble for the ball. Teagan Wallace (Lumberton, N.J./Rancocas Valley Regional) took his spot out of play for a long throw-in that first bounced off several Huskies' heads in front of goal. After West Chester goalkeeper Jaden Howard punched the first attempt at goal in the sequence out, another failed clearance landed at Jake Pacacha (Shelton, Conn./St. Joseph) for a redirected volley attempt from Howard. The ball did not go far, dropping at the doorstep of the goal for Wilsterman to hammer home a tap-in for the lead. 

Wilsterman nearly doubled the lead in the 76th minute with another follow-up opportunity in the box, but the Golden Rams escaped the scare with the one-goal deficit intact. Sierra looked to give West Chester a shot at the tying goal with a solo run into the Bloomsburg box, but his efforts were thwarted by a sliding Kody Besser (Lacey Township, N.J./Lacey Township). Rimple followed those attempts later with a comfortable save on a long-range attempt from Komperda. Rimple made his final save of the afternoon off a free-kick header from Slack to lock down the closing moments of the contest and lead the Huskies to victory. 

Numbers of Note:
1837 - The Huskies snapped their active longest winless streak against a conference opponent Saturday afternoon with the victory over the Golden Rams. It had been 1837 days since Bloomsburg's last win on October 9, 2019.

8-1-1  - Bloomsburg has been involved in several highly-contested matches throughout the season. In games decided by one goal or fewer, the Huskies are 8-1-1. 

6 - Rimple's work in net remains imperative to the team's success. The graduate student goalkeeper is the first player in program history with six or more saves in two seasons.

On the Horizon: 
The Huskies hit the road to Shepherdstown, W.Va., on Wednesday, October 23, for a 3:00 p.m. clash against Shepherd in PSAC play.