BLOOMSBURG, Pa.. - The Bloomsburg women's soccer team knocked off No. 13 Kutztown Wednesday afternoon at Steph Pettit Stadium.

In a tightly contested matchup, the Huskies rallied after conceding an early goal to get out to come back and hold off the Golden Bears after the hour mark. Alena Totten (Neptune, N.J./Neptune) netted the equalizer off a cross from Anika Krasnai (Lancaster, Pa./Manheim Township) with under five minutes to play in the opening half. Bloomsburg played inspired throughout the second half, with the payoff coming in the 61st minute as Jess Wanzor (Jackson, N.J./Jackson Memorial) set up Kennedy Kilchrist (Southampton, Pa./Villa Joseph Marie) at the back post to give the Huskies the win. 

The win over Kutztown is the first ranked victory for Bloomsburg since defeating the Golden Bears at home on Wednesday, September 14, in a 1-0 game at Steph Pettit Stadium.
 
With a pivotal conference victory, the Huskies improve to 5-2 overall on the season, riding a three-game winning streak to a 3-2 record in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division. Kutztown suffers its first defeat of the 2024 season, falling to 4-1-2 overall and 2-1-2 in conference play.

How It Happened:
The first 10 minutes of the match saw both sides looking to play to their styles, each team getting an early chance to leave an early mark on the contest. Bloomsburg, with a corner opportunity, had the first clear-cut chance at the opening goal. After winning a corner, Aubrey Hondros (Richboro, Pa./Council Rock South) delivered a ball off to the left of the six-yard spot, where Erin Ranegan (Wilmington, Del./Conrad School of Science) freed herself but could not square the header on net.

The Golden Bears made the Huskies pay for its early missed opportunity as the visitors scored the opening goal with their next chance. The visitors took a throw-in quickly, allowing a player to split two Bloomsburg defenders after a low ball took an awkward bounce off a defender; Kutztown's Joslyn Stoltz connected her shin on a ball that slipped through into goal.

Kutztown emphasized possession throughout the first half as the visitors drove the ball forward into lanes in the Huskies' half. The Golden Bears looked to double their advantage off a free kick that had Caroline McDonald sneak in front of goalkeeper Samantha Merklin (Effort, Pa./Pleasant Valley) for a backheel as her attempt redirected to the edge of the 18-yard box for a follow-up attempt that sailed high. Kutztown mustered another three shots in the subsequent minutes, but the Golden Bears would go the remainder of the half without a shot on goal.

The Huskies' in-match adjustments proved fruitful before halftime as the home team found its equalizer. Bloomsburg found itself in the final third along the left wing with the ball at the feet of Anika Krasnai (Lancaster, Pa./Manheim Township). The sophomore faked out her defender to get free for a cross and centered the ball to a breaking Alena Totten (Neptune, N.J./Neptune). Totten got inside leverage of her defender at the front post and tucked in a poke with her right foot to tie the match at 1-1 after 45 minutes of action.

The two teams continued trading chances up and down the field through the opening 15 minutes of the second half. Both sides recorded three corners in that time frame, with the Huskies again pressing forward. Ranegan put pressure on Kutztown once more with another header off a corner, this time finding space at the back post with an attempt nearly missing the upper-right corner of the goal.

The persistence was rewarded under a minute later from tremendous combined efforts. Hondros set Bloomsburg up in the final third after muscling through a shielding defender and forcing a throw in the final third. After an initial nodded pass was cleared only as far as Wanzor, the senior threaded a pass on the left side of the box to the back post, where Kilchrist accelerated past her defender to tuck the ball into the bottom right corner. 

The Huskies remained resolute defensively in holding off the visiting Golden Bears. Forcing a styles clash, Kutztown could not generate similar looks to what it had in the first half. As Merklin recorded a pair of saves nearing the dying moments, the Golden Bears had one final well-struck strike from Corinne Morgan that flew directly into the hands of Merklin.

Numbers of Note:
5-0 - Goalkeeping played a major role in the final result of Wednesday's contest, as Merklin finished with five saves. Kutztown freshman goalkeeper Cassidy Howes did not record a stop in the afternoon. 

2 - The Huskies found results in replicating similar results to their match at Millersville last Saturday. Totten recorded her second goal in as many matches. Krasnai and Wanzor each have two assists in their previous two appearances.

On the Horizon: 
The Huskies have the weekend off as they prepare for a road conference matchup with Mansfield on Wednesday, October 2.