MANSFIELD, Pa. - The Bloomsburg women's soccer team used a strong second-half effort to claim a 2-0 win on the road at Mansfield Wednesday afternoon.

Both goals for the Huskies came in the second half, with Kennedy Kilchrist (Southampton, Pa./Villa Joseph Marie) delivering a service to the back post to a diving Aubrey Hondros (Richboro, Pa./Council Rock South). The senior beat her defender and headed home the pass to put Bloomsburg up, 1-0. Hondros returned the favor later in the half with a ball of her own to the back post that found the foot of Kilchrist to double the advantage and put the Mountaineers away.
 
The Huskies jump to 6-2 overall, improving to a 4-2 record in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division. Mansfield falls to 0-5-3 on the season and 0-5-1 in conference play.

How It Happened:
Bloomsburg sustained its aggression and press throughout the contest on Wednesday, with the team unable to break through in the first 45 minutes of play. The Huskies totaled eight shots in the opening half to two from the Mountaineers, but only one was put on net. Anika Krasnai (Lancaster, Pa./Manheim Township) had the lone shot on target for Bloomsburg in the first half, cutting inside on the left wing and forcing Mansfield goalkeeper Alyssa Shuman to make a diving stop to ther right. 

Taking a breath at halftime, Bloomsburg made the necessary adjustments to continue controlling the contest and find its groove offensively. 

The Huskies got their break in the 59th minute. Working down the right side, Kilchrist beat her defender off the dribble to create space and separation. The senior whipped a cross over the defense to find Hondros free at the back post. Adjusting to the ball, Hondros trusted her head to lay out and put away a finish into the bottom left corner to give Bloomsburg the 1-0 lead.



The persistence on the ball continued to weigh on the host Mountaineers, eventually leading to the second goal for the Huskies less than four minutes later. On the opposite wing, Hondros replicated the efforts of her teammate on the left side to get position near the end line for a cross of her own. The ball skipped over to a shielding Kilchrist, outmuscling her defender for position to slot home a right-footed finish to double the advantage. 



Mansfield continued its attempts to develop and cap off counterattacks to fuel a comeback effort but failed to break through an unrelenting Bloomsburg defense. The Mountaineers did shrink the shot discrepancy, with the second half finishing 6-4 in favor of Bloomsburg; the Huskies closed down on intended pockets of space to keep the home side off the scoreboard.

Bloomsburg's efforts up and down the field were a combined effort from start to finish. A total of 10 players finished the match with at least one shot, as the team edged Mansfield 14-6 in the department and 6-3 with attempts on target. 

Numbers of Note:
1 & 1 - Hondros and Kilchrist were the catalysts in the second half and did so beyond playing a one-two pass. Both players recorded a goal and an assist in the contest, the first time either senior has done so in their careers. 

4 - Helped by three saves from Samantha Merklin (Effort, Pa./Pleasant Valley) and a collective, swarming defense, the Huskies posted their fourth shutout of the season. 

On the Horizon: 
The Huskies continue their travels to West Chester on Saturday, October 5, at 12:00 p.m. for a conference clash with the Golden Rams.