SHEPHERDSTOWN, W. Va. - No. 24 Bloomsburg men's soccer capitalized on second-half set pieces to come away with a  - on the road against Shepherd Wednesday afternoon.

Jake Pacacha (Shelton, Conn./St. Joseph) was the offensive catalyst for the Huskies, recording a career day thanks to his performance in the second half. The sophomore helped the Huskies get on the board by connecting with Kody Besser (Lacey Township, N.J./Lacey Township) from a corner to open up the scoring. Pacacha doubled the Bloomsburg advantage eight minutes later, working with Alex Wilsterman (Orefield, Pa./Parkland) off a corner to find space 20-plus yards outside the box for his first career goal as a Husky.

The Huskies improve to 11-2-1 overall with a 6-1-1 against Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division opposition. The Rams drop to 3-8-2 on the season and 1-6 in conference play. With Wednesday's win, Bloomsburg clinches a spot in the PSAC Tournament.

How It Happened:

Bloomsburg came in looking to set the tone early in its road contest and, similarly to the first meeting against Shepherd, struggled in the opening half to generate clean looks on net. The Huskies' first shot on target came inside the first three minutes of the game, but it did not force the Rams' goalkeeper, Aidan Houck, into a compromising position.

Bloomsburg went on record just two more shots in the first 30 minutes of the contest, with the indirect play of Shepherd keeping the Huskies from creating offensive momentum. Teagan Wallace (Lumberton, N.J./Rancocas Valley Regional) put on a lofted effort on goal that was easily caught before the line, going down as the final shot of the half inside the 45th minute.

The Bloomsburg defense remained solid in the first half, keeping the Rams without a shot. The Huskies finished with a 4-0 shot advantage while benefiting from several throw-ins and free-kick opportunities around the box.

Despite not finding the sought-after goal in the first half, Bloomsburg remained adamant in their attacking efforts to begin the second. The Huskies matched their shot total from the first 45 minutes inside the opening 15 minutes of the second in search of a goal. 

The Maroon & Gold found the breakthrough in the 66th minute from a series of corner kicks. Bloomsburg's second chance from the corner forced Houck to make another timely stop to keep the Huskies off the scoreboard. The third time was the charm for the Bloomsburg set-piece routines, with Pacacha over the ball from the far side of the field. The sophomore got enough air under the ball to attack the far post and find Besser, with the defender firing away into the upper right corner for his third goal of the season.

The Huskies went back to the well from a near-side corner to make it a 2-0 game in West Virginia. A designed set piece dragged a defender out of the passing lane to give Wilsterman to center the ball to Pacacha at the top of the box. Pacacha knuckled the ball past a standstill Houck to record his first career goal and cap off a career day and propel his team to the win.

Bloomsburg's road victory came dominantly, with the No. 24 Huskies finishing the contest with heavily lopsided stats. Bloomsburg outshot Shepherd, 18-0, with 11 attempts going on target. The Huskies' attacking efforts led to 11 corner kicks, with the opportunities proving vital to the team's success. 

Numbers of Note:

0 - The Huskies' calling card this season has been a stifling defense, and that mindset appeared in spades Wednesday afternoon. Bloomsburg held Shepherd to zero shot attempts for the full 90 minutes in the contest, the only time blanking an opponent in the category dating back to 2014 and the fewest since holding Pittsburgh-Johnstown to two shots in 2017.

45 - Head coach Mark Bassett has had the Bloomsburg men's soccer program on an upward trajectory since arriving in 2021. With his 45th guiding the Huskies, Bassett has the most wins in any four-year period in program history, with four games remaining in the 2024 regular season.

On the Horizon: 

The Huskies return to Steph Pettit Stadium on Saturday, October 26, at 12:00 p.m. for a conference matchup with Shippensburg.