BLOOMSBURG, Pa. - No. 13 and PSAC East No. 1 seed Bloomsburg men's soccer moved on to the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Championship Final with a thrilling victory over West No. 2 Slippery Rock, 5-4, on penalty kicks Friday afternoon.

Sophomore forward Owen Hollobaugh (State College, Pa./State College) opened the scoring in the contest after a scoreless first half. Working off a free kick, junior defender Braden Alicea (Huntingdon Valley, Pa./Lower Moreland) sent in a lofting ball from inside his own half to the back post where Alex Wilsterman (Orefield, Pa./Parkland) got the initial connection toward goal that worked back over the middle to Hollobaugh, with the forward laying out for a diving header into the roof of the net. The lead did not last for long as The Rock answered just over four minutes later, eventually leading to overtime and spot kicks.

In penalties, the Huskies turned to several players to aid the cause. Brady Rimple (Cherryville, Pa./Northampton Area) opened the shootout with a big stop to give Bloomsburg early momentum. The Huskies got clutch conversions from Jake Pacacha (Shelton, Conn./St. Joseph), Teagan Wallace (Lumberton, N.J./Rancocas Valley Regional), Parker Nickelsen (Toms River, N.J./Toms River North), and Liam Hartman (Abington, Pa./Abington) as both sides settled into rhythms. Slippery Rock goalkeeper Adam Davies made a timely save on the potential match-sealing kick to extend his team's hopes. After the next SRU penalty taker rattled his attempt off the crossbar, Owen Peri (Dallastown, Pa./Dallastown) stepped up with the game on the line. Locked in, the sophomore defender fired home his penalty to send Bloomsburg on to the PSAC Championships game.

The Huskies' title hopes remain alive as the team sits at 14-3-2 on the season. The Rock finishes the season at 9-4-5.

How It Happened:
Bloomsburg started off Friday's contest aggressively, drawing the first corner of the match just over two minutes into the day. The pressure resulted in an early shot from Wilsterman that went over the crossbar. The efforts carried on with another two corners inside the first 15 minutes of action.

Patrick Walsh (Macungie, Pa./Emmaus) had the first crack at the opening goal in the 21st minute. Working off a long throw-in a scramble ensued among a mass of bodies. Eventually, Walsh settled the ball and ripped off a well-struck ball to the bottom right corner to force a save from Davies.

Following another two attempts on net from the Huskies, Rimple made his first of five stops in the game in the 33rd minute. Slippery Rock lgnacio took a free kick from just outside the near side of the Bloomsburg 18-yard box that forced Rimple to come out and punch the ball from danger and end the threat. 

Neither side recorded a shot on target through the final 12 minutes of the first half to enter the break knotted at 0-0. The Huskies finished the first half with a 6-3 advantage on shots but both sides only managed to get one attempt on net. Bloomsburg played to its strengths in generating set pieces, leading the corner margin, 4-1.

The Rock opened the second half on a strong note, pushing the Huskies' backline with a pair of corners and a shot inside the first 15 minutes out of the break. The offensive pressure from SRU turned into a pair of shots to force saves from Rimple. The graduate goalkeeper made both stops ranging to his ride and shielding off the bottom corner. 

The breakthrough came in the 69th minute off the head of Hollobaugh but the response came moments later off the foot of Slippery Rock's Aaron Finney. Finney found space alone at the back post after Bloomsburg failed to clear a cross from the center of the box. 

The Huskies managed to fire off several more shots along with the attempts from the visitors from the Rock but neither team managed to force a stop from the opposing keeper in the closing moments. Bloomsburg rattled off five shots in the minutes following the equalizer to even the shot total at 6-6 through the final 45 minutes of regulation. 

Slippery Rock was on the verge of the winner in the first overtime period off the foot of leading-scorer Arturo Pla Hernandis. The senior's shot shook the crossbar and led to a follow-up shot from teammate Shaun Spencer, whose crack was cleared off the line by Alicea. Rimple mustered his most timely save of the match with a diving effort to prevent Finney's desire for a brace. The Huskies' best opportunity came without a shot as Hollobaugh and Nickelsen had a one-on-two in The Rocks half, but Hollobaugh's attempt at a pass could not sneak through.

The final 10 minutes of overtime proved quieter than the first 10 as both teams' efforts were silenced to close out play in the open field. Through 110 minutes of game time, Bloomsburg and Slippery Rock finished even on total shots (13) and corner kicks (6). Rimple's efforts in goal proved critical to his teams' advancement efforts, coming up with five pivotal stops to help the advancement efforts. 

Numbers of Note:
6 - The Bloomsburg men's soccer team makes its sixth championship game appearance in program history. The Huskies are 0-5 in the previous contests, most recently falling at Steph Pettit Stadium in 2022 to Mercyhurst. Bloomsburg's other five PSAC Championship appearances include 2014, 2011, 1996 and 1977

2011 - Bloomsburg did not have much recent experience heading into Friday's late-stage drama. The Huskies avenged a home 2023 PK defeat to West Chester in last season's PSAC Quarterfinals. Bloomsburg last came away with a decision from the spot in 2011 following a 7-6 result against Lock Haven. 

On the Horizon: 
Bloomsburg returns to its home turf on Sunday, November 17, at 1:00 p.m. for the PSAC Championship game against West No. 1 seed Gannon.