BLOOMSBURG, Pa. - The Bloomsburg men's soccer team jumped out in front and never looked back in a 2-1 victory at Steph Pettit Stadium over Millersville Saturday afternoon.

Zach Morales (Orefield, Pa./Parkland) was the offensive star of the first five minutes and the game for the Huskies. The junior started with an assist to Owen Hollobaugh (State College, Pa./State College) inside three minutes before going on his own just under five to beat the keeper and net his second goal of the season. In a game with the Marauders recording more shots than Bloomsburg (11-9), the better chance generation and more potent opportunities (6-4 on target) led the Huskies to the win. 

Bloomsburg improves to 6-2-1 on the season and sits 3-1-1 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division. Millersville drops to 4-5 overall and 2-2 in conference action.

How It Happened:
The Huskies could not have asked for a better start to Saturday's contest, with two goals scored inside the first five minutes of play.

The scoring started after Bloomsburg looked to rest its offense after a corner. Play cycled back to goalkeeper Brady Rimple (Cherryville, Pa./Northampton Area), and waiting patiently, the grad student launched a lofting ball down the left wing to Morales. The winger got behind Millersville Kehmar Green and headed the ball forward, finding Hollobaugh at the front post. The forward bounced the shot into the turf to go between Marauders' goalkeeper Jake Van Vorhees' legs to put the Huskies up 1-0.

An action-packed first few minutes did not stop there, as Bloomsburg doubled its advantage 46 seconds later. Bloomsburg reinserted the ball with a throw-in off the head of Sam Blumberger (Colchester, Conn./Bacon Academy) and to the feet of Quaid Molino (Charleston, S.C./Wando (S.C.) / South Williamsport (Pa.)). Molino sent the ball down that same left wing before being picked up by Green. The center-back passed the ball to Van Vorhees, who connected poorly with a pressing Morales in his face. Morales chipped Van Vorhees off the first touch and watched as the ball went in to make it a 2-0 game.

Millersville remained engaged throughout the match and found its first opportunity on net in the 13th minute. The Marauders went over a corner from the far side of the field and sent in a ball that found an unmarked Green at the penalty spot. Green's effort did not generate the necessary power to beat Rimple, with the ball floating into the graduate student's hands. 

The teams traded shots on target near the 20-minute mark in the first half to keep things interesting. Alex Wilsterman (Orefield, Pa./Parkland) manned his spot in central midfield and picked out a streaking Jaliyl Melvin (Mount Holly, N.J./Rancocas Valley Regional) down the wing. The attacker's initial touch proved strong, forcing him to shoot late at the near post for a low-driven effort to force a save out of Van Vorhees. Rimple recorded the next save of the match off a long-range attempt that took an awkward bounce before being collected in front of a Millersville player. 

Kody Besser (Lacey Township, N.J./Lacey Township), Zayd DeVeaux (Philadelphia, Pa./Springside Chestnut Hill Academy) and Adrian Rodriguez (Tarrytown, N.Y./Sleepy Hollow) added to the efforts in a variety of ways for the Huskies. Besser saw two headers from set pieces sail over the crossbar while DeVeaux could not square his body around and pushed an attempt wide right. Rodriguez collected the ball outside the box and fired a low shot to the bottom right corner to force another stop from Van Vorhees. 

While looking to take the top off the Bloomsburg defense, Millersville adjusted its style to control more of the ball in the second half. Those efforts nearly paid off in the 49th minute after Richy Valverde got past the center of the defense and went under a leaping Rimple to push the ball to the bottom right corner. Tracking back, Patrick Walsh (Macungie, Pa./Emmaus) made a herculean effort to beat Valverde to the ball and clear it away before crossing the line. 

The Marauders got one back in the 78th minute off a chaotic corner. Millersville's initial header off the corner fell to the far side of the box to Connor Fiadino. Fiadino sent in a high-arching ball centrally to Cooper Davis, with the defender beating his mark in the air to cut the game to 2-1. 

An intense final 10-plus minutes unfolded at Steph Pettit Stadium, with both sides scrambling to secure the ball. Wilsterman fired the last on-target shot of the contest in the 78th minute with a blast to the of the net before being directed out of play for a corner. Millersville had two good chances of its own in the final 11 minutes in search of an equalizer, with Michael Dempsey pushing a shot wide right. Valverde saw his header drift narrowly over the crossbar in the 85th, proving to be the last chance for either side and leading to a Bloomsburg victory. 

Numbers of Note:
3 - Morales' emergence in the starting lineup has seen the junior have a career year. After scoring his first career goal at West Chester, Morales had his best game for the Maroon & Gold with a goal and an assist for three points. 

3:36 - Bloomsburg's two goals in today's contest came within 3:36 of the opening whistle.

On the Horizon: 
The Huskies begin a week of non-conference games on Wednesday, October 9, as the team travels to Sparkill, N.Y., for a 3:00 p.m. contest with St. Thomas Aquinas.