Men's Soccer | 11/22/2024 12:00:00 PM

BLOOMSBURG, Pa. - No. 3 seed Bloomsburg men's continues its postseason run in the NCAA Tournament Second Round with a matchup against sixth-seeded Felician for a 3:00 p.m. clash on Sunday, November 24, at Steph Pettit Stadium.

The Huskies are 15-3-2 entering the NCAA Tournament after capturing the first PSAC Championship in program history with a 2-1 victory over Gannon. The Golden Falcons return to Bloomsburg with a record of 16-3-2, bringing their own hardware after defeating Post, 1-0, to claim the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference title. 

All sales for Sunday's NCAA Tournament Second Round contest must be purchased at the gate with cash only. General admission for the event is $10 per person. Admission for students with a valid I.D., seniors age 65 and up, veterans and first responders is $5 per person. Children under the age of two will be admitted free of charge. Bloomsburg students who present a valid Bloomsburg I.D. will be admitted free of charge through CGA Funding.

Inside The Matchup
The Huskies and the Golden Falcons will meet for the second time this season on the grounds of Steph Pettit Stadium following a 1-0 victory for Felician. 75 days between the kicks has seen both sides achieve tremendous success in 2024. The all-time results between the two sides could not be much closer. With only five previous meetings, Bloomsburg has the edge in the all-time series, 3-2. However, every game played between the two sides has been decided by one goal. The final score was 1-0 each of the last three times the sides have faced one another. The Golden Falcons have gotten the better of the last two meetings, with Bassett 0-2 in his games against the CACC foe. 

With the best of the best remaining in the postseason tournament field, both sides have and must continue to put their best foot forward toward advancement. Against teams in the NCAA Tournament field, the Huskies are 2-1 with victories against GMAC men's soccer champions, Findlay and the Golden Knights with the lone defeat to Felician. The Golden Falcons are 2-1-1 in such contests this season, picking up a win in CACC title game against Post following a regular-season draw and dropping a September matchup to two-time defending national champions, Franklin Pierce.

Both teams fared well throughout the season and that shows in the results against similar opponents. The sides between them have taken on five of the same teams, with Bloomsburg 6-0 against those opponents and Felician are 5-1, with the Golden Falcons avenging a 2-1 defeat to Georgian Court in their conference tournament semifinal matchup.

Since losing to the Lions on October 15, Felician has been marching its way through its competition. In those eight games since, the Golden Falcons are 7-0-1, averaging three goals per contest and notching five shutouts, including their final two games of the CACC Tournament. In that same timeframe, Bloomsburg is 7-1-1 with 19 goals scored (2.11 per contest) and six shutouts but without a clean sheet in its last three matches.

Sunday's contest will feature two up-and-coming programs in the region. Under head coach Brandon Levine, Felician won double-digits games in consecutive seasons for the first time since moving to Division II. The Golden Falcons are 39-24-12 with three straight seasons above .500 for the first time since its transition. The weekend's NCAA Tournament contest will be the first in team history for Felician.

Bassett's Hounds
Bloomsburg men's soccer has reached unparalleled success in the program's history under the guidance of Bassett. In his four seasons at the helm, Bassett has accumulated a record of 49-21-8 (.680) to this point with a 27-14-5 (.641) mark in conference action. The 49 victories are the most by any coach in the team's history over a four-year period while topping the career winning-percentage mark. Bassett leads the Huskies to their second consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance, the first time in program history, and fourth overall. Bloomsburg won the PSAC title for the first time in history after a pair of heartbreaking defeats at home in the PSAC Tournament in 2022 and 2023. The fourth-year gaffer is now the second coach to lead the men's soccer program to PSAC Championship and NCAA Tournament appearances in the same season.

Under the direction of Bassett the Huskies have accumulated 23 All-PSAC East nods, including coaching Walsh to PSAC East Defensive Athlete of the Year honors in 2024 and helping Owen Hollobuagh to Freshman of the Year acclaim in 2023. In addition to the all-conference accolades, Bassett helped defender Kody Besser (Lacey Township, N.J./Lacey Township) to All-Atlantic Region honors in 2023, becoming the first player since 2019 and first defender since 2015 to reach the status. On his own shelf, Bassett received PSAC East Coach of the Year honors on Wednesday after also earning the distinction in 2022. In the last three seasons, Bassett broke the program single-season wins (15), matched the previous mark once (14) and led the program to its first NCAA Tournament victory in team history in 2023 with a 2-1 victory over Southern New Hampshire and now the team's first PSAC Championship in program history.

Twist of Fate
After a pair of heartbreaking home defeats in the last two PSAC Tournament weeks, Bloomsburg reversed its fortunes with its 2-1 championship game victory over Gannon last Sunday. The Huskies were previously 0-5 in PSAC Title contests and 0-3 since 2011. Bloomsburg started championship weekend with a win on penalty kicks to offset last season's PSAC Quarterfinal defeat to West Chester from the spot. In 2023, the Huskies ended a 10-year NCAA postseason drought, earning the No. 8 seed for last season's tournament. Bloomsburg claimed its first win in the tournament after losses in previous matches in 2014 and 1978. Overall, Bloomsburg is 1-3 in the NCAA Tournament. Both teams will look to make it to the NCAA Third Round for the first time after this weekend. The Huskies and Bassett will now look to overturn another drought, with Bloomsburg looking for its first win over Felician since 2016 and Bassett seeking to break an 0-2 record against the Golden Falcons.

Success In The Margins
The Bloomsburg men's soccer team is accustomed to tight contests and the PSAC Tournament was the continuation. In those contests, Bloomsburg is 8-1-2 overall and is 7-0-2 against PSAC opposition. At Steph Pettit Stadium this season, the Huskies are 6-1-2, with the lone loss this season coming against the Golden Falcons. In postseason competition under Bassett, Bloomsburg is 3-1-2 in those situations. Under the guidance of Bassett, the Huskies are 28-14-8 in narrow scenarios. Under Levine, Felician is 17-10-12 in his four seasons while 10-4-5 over the last two and 1-0-1 in postseason contests. 

Experience Matters
With the program's success comes the challenges of maintaining it and luckily for the Huskies, there is a wealth of experience across the team, not just alone but playing together. 14 members of the Bloomsburg men's soccer team have played in 35 games, 13 of which have seen action in 40 contests and 10 in 50 matches. The group is anchored in the midfield by the tandem of Teagan Wallace (Lumberton, N.J./Rancocas Valley Regional) and Alex Wilsterman (Orefield, Pa./Parkland), with the duo combining for 140 games played and 103 starts. In the attack, Parker Nickelsen (Toms River, N.J./Toms River North) and Anthony Schlee (Baltimore, Md./Archbishop Curley) have appeared in 150 contests with 89 starts. This core group of players will be the backbone to the Huskies' plans.

The Rimple Registry
The three seasons starting in goal for Brady Rimple (Cherryville, Pa./Northampton Area) have earned the goalkeeper a place in the Bloomsburg record books. Rimple broke the school single-season and career shutout records this year, first breaking the career mark in a 6-0 win over Shippensburg before notching the single-season tally in a 4-0 victory over Dominican (NY) in his next outing. Rimple presently stands with 9.5 shutouts to his name this season and 20.5 in his career. Rimple is the only goalkeeper in program history with three seasons reaching five or more shutouts and is the only net minder to reach 20 in a career. Rimple has made several clutch stops in his entire tenure, including this season to aid the Huskies' efforts. The tendency to rise to the occasion revealed itself again in the PSAC Championship game, with the Cherryville, Pa. native recording eight saves and surrendering one goal en route to PSAC Tournament MVP honors. Entering the NCAA Tournament, the graduate has .739 goals against average and a .794 save percentage with 54 stops. Rimple's accomplishments extend into the classroom, with the shot stopper being named the PSAC Champion Scholar prior to the start of the conference tournament. 

Give The Dogs Their Bones
Bloomsburg's success this season has come with the help of a contingency of players. The widespread contributions resulted in the team earning a program record with seven All-PSAC East honors, including five first-team selections.

On the first team, Walsh became the first Husky to garner PSAC East Defensive Athlete of the Year honors after playing a pivotal role along the backline for Bloomsburg. Walsh led the teams in goals (7) and points (14) during the regular season and led all defenders in the PSAC in goals. Anchoring the center of the defense, Besser earned his second-consecutive first-team nod after finishing second on the team in points (13) and tied for second in goals (4) and assists (5). Besser joins Wilsterman this season as one of nine players in program history to receive three all-conference honors and just the sixth to be a two-time first-team honoree. Rimple rounds out the defensive recipients with his first all-conference honor, a first-team All-PSAC East bid.

In the midfield, Wallace takes a spot first-team All-PSAC East spot after notching a career-high 10 points, scoring two goals and recording a career-best six assists. The senior is a two-time all-conference honoree after earning second-team accolades in 2023. Wilsterman pairs with his running mate for second-team honors in his final season. The graduate tied for second on the team with four goals and finished with three assists for 11 points. The midfielder is just one of four players on the team with back-to-back 10-point campaigns and one of three with three seasons reaching the benchmark.

Up front, Hollobaugh made consecutive all-conference appearances in his first two seasons on the field for the Huskies. After a second-team bid and Freshman of the Year honors in 2023, Hollobaugh has five goals to go with two assists to mark consecutive 10-points seasons playing at the point. The sophomore has nine goals and five assists in his career. Finally, Schlee makes his second-consecutive All-PSAC East second team after recording two goals and four assists in 19 games. The senior is the team's active leader in goals (18), assists (12), points (48), games played (78) and starts (64).

Final Notes
The two sides are even in several facets this season not just in the box score last time out or record but in the quality of 11 both sides will field on Sunday. Felician matches Bloomsburg with seven total all-conference representatives. The Golden Falcons placed seven players on the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference All-Conference teams to lead the conference. Of those seven, five earned spots on the first team. Felician has several prominent attacking options led by forwards Lorenzo Ferrari (First Team) and Tim Jaeger (Second Team) and attacking midfielder Hugo Rodriguez (First Team). Ferrari and Jaeger linked up the last time the two sides played, with Jaeger splitting the Huskies' defense with a through ball to put Ferrari through for the game-winner in the opening minutes of the contest. Jaeger is among the top five in Division II with 13 assists while Rodriguez leads the Golden Falcons with 10 goals. As a team, Felician has six players with at least five goals and five with five or more assists. Team captain Alvaro Martin Castedo headlines four total defensive selections and three on the first team, including outside backs Alex Ramos (19 points) and Manuel Otero (13 points) and goalkeeper Emanuele Moretti (Second Team).

Similar to its finals matchup with Gannon, Bloomsburg will have to contend with a well-balanced squad on both ends of the field. Defensively, both teams are amongst the top 10 in the country in goals against average with the Huskies tied for seventh and the Golden Falcons tied eighth entering the opening weekend of games. The edge leans toward Felician offensively, with the visitors ninth nationally with 2.67 goals per contest for the third-best goal differential in the country (42).

Getting through on the offensive end is going to be a critical piece of the contest and taking advantage of what could be limited opportunities might prove the difference. Both teams give up fewer than 10 shots per contest, with Felician allowing just 9.86 per contest and Bloomsburg facing 8.95. In their CACC Tournament run, the Golden Falcons faced 38 total shots and 11 on target. In its PSAC Championship conquest, the Huskies faced 37 with 15 on goal and saw 20 on target and 44 total in their last three games. The defensive effort from both teams plus the work between the woodwork from Rimple and Moretti will prove decisive in the final outcome.