Men's Soccer | 11/13/2025 12:30:00 PM

BLOOMSBURG, Pa. - The Bloomsburg men's soccer team looks ahead to the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Semifinal on Friday, November 14, at 5:00 p.m. against Millersville.

The Huskies enter the opening round of the 2025 Men's Soccer PSAC Championship with a 10-2-6 overall record and a 4-2-4 mark in conference action. Bloomsburg finished as the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Division. The Marauders possess a 10-3-4 record and enter the semifinal round coming off a bye as the East No. 1 seed. Millersville claimed the top spot in the Eastern Division with a conference record of 7-1-2.

Fans can purchase tickets with the following link through Hudl Tickets. Tickets are $12 for adults and $7 for kids K-12. PSAC students with a valid member institution I.D. receive free admission. Tickets can only be purchased via Hudl Tickets and must be made with a cashless purchase.

Inside the Matchup
These two divisional foes will meet for the third time this season. In the first meeting at Steph Pettit Stadium, the two sides finished in a 1-1 draw. Sam Blumberger (Colchester, Conn./Bacon Academy) scored the Huskies goal from a corner kick delivery by Braden Alicea (Huntingdon Valley, Pa./Lower Moreland) inside the first 15 minutes of the contest. As the Huskies fended off several scoring threats by the Marauders, Zander Leik eventually found the back of the net for Millersville. Both teams had chances in the match to come away with the decisive goal. In the most recent matchup, a road contest for Bloomsburg, the Huskies suffered a 2-0 defeat. Brian O'Neill was the goal scorer in that match, netting the brace in a match where Bloomsburg mustered only four shots. 

The Huskies have historically struggled against Millersville. Dating back to 2001, Bloomsburg is 8-27-3 against the Marauders. Under head coach Mark Bassett, the Huskies are 2-6-2 (.300) against Millersville, compared to 6-21-1 (.232) in the 20 years prior. Bloomsburg and Millersville have crossed paths in the PSAC Tournament three times, twice in the Semifinals and once in the Finals. The Huskies in those postseason matchups against the Marauders are 0-3. The last postseason affair between the two teams came in Erie 10 years ago in 2015, a 1-0 final in favor of Millersville. The other semifinal match between the teams came in 2009, a 2-0 defeat for Bloomsburg on the Marauders' home field. In 2011, the sides met in the PSAC Championship at Millersville, with the Marauders getting the better of the Huskies in a 1-0 final.

Millersville has captured the conference crown five times in the program's history. The Marauders most recently did so at the 2023 PSAC Championship hosted by Gannon, where the Marauders defeated Seton Hill in the semifinals before going on to beat West Chester for the title. Millersville is led by head coach Steve Widdowson, who has brought home all five PSAC titles in team history, including three consecutive from 2018-2021. Since Widdowson became the head coach of the Marauders, Millersville is 24-4-2 against Bloomsburg.

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 59-24-14 (.680) to this point with a 31-16-9 (.634) mark in conference action. The 59 victories are the third most by a coach in team history, while topping the career winning percentage mark. Bassett leads the Huskies into their fourth consecutive PSAC Tournament appearance, the longest such stretch in program history.

Under the direction of Bassett, the Huskies have accumulated 25 All-PSAC East nods. This season, senior defender Kody Besser (Lacey Township, N.J./Lacey Township) and senior midfielder Sam Blumberger (Colchester, Conn./Bacon Academy) received all-conference distinction. Besser became just the third player in program history to be a four-time All-PSAC honoree, while Blumberger picked up his first career all-conference accolade after a position switch. In 2024, Bassett coached Patrick Walsh (Macungie, Pa./Emmaus) to PSAC East Defensive Athlete of the Year honors and helped Owen Hollobaugh (State College, Pa./State College) to Freshman of the Year acclaim in 2023. The 2024 campaign was a record-shattering season for the Huskies on multiple levels. Bloomsburg finished with a single-season record of 15 victories. The Huskies had a program-best seven players earn All-PSAC East distinction. Bloomsburg matched the 2014 squad with four United Soccer Coaches All-Region honors and secured the first three All-America nods from the organization in program history. Besser and goalkeeper Brady Rimple (Cherryville, Pa./Northampton Area) were first-team selections, while Hollobaugh was a third-team choice. Walsh brought home All-America recognition of his own, third-team distinction from the Division II Conference Commissioner's Association (D2CCA). In addition to their success on the field, Walsh (First Team) and Rimple (Second Team) were named College Sports Communicators Academic All-Americans.

On his own shelf, Bassett received PSAC East Coach of the Year honors for the second time in his tenure in 2024, previously earning the distinction in 2022. Bassett and assistant coach Patrick Alvarez were honored by United Soccer Coaches as the Division II Atlantic Region Coaching Staff of the Year, another first in the program's history. In the last four seasons, Bassett has matched the program's single-season wins record, set a new bar in single-season victories, led the program to its first NCAA Tournament victory in team history in 2023 with a 2-1 victory over Southern New Hampshire, and hosted the first NCAA Regional match in program history in 2024 against Felician.

Bloomsburg Men's Soccer:

Before Bassett (46 Seasons): 341-386-58 (.471) Overall, 104-132-21 (.446) PSAC, 11 PSAC Tournaments, 2 NCAA Tournament Appearances, 0-2 NCAA Tournament Record

With Bassett (5 Seasons): 59-24-14 (.680) Overall, 31-16-9 (.634) PSAC, 4 PSAC Tournaments, 1 PSAC Title, 2 NCAA Tournament Appearances, 1-2 NCAA Tournament Record

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. 10 members of the Bloomsburg have played 30 games in Maroon & Gold, six have appeared in at least 50, four have played 60, and Besser and Alicea, have over 70 career appearances with 70 and 76, respectively. The Huskies have managed to add great squad players through the transfer portal. In 2024, it was Quaid Molino (Charleston, S.C./Wando (S.C.)), who has now appeared in 37 games with 19 starts for Bloomsburg and 68 in total. This season, the Huskies brought in Theo Jackson (Elmore, Ohio/Woodmore) and Connor Fiadino (Burlington, N.J./Burlington Township), adding quality depth to their position groups. Jackson appeared in 27 contests with 23 starts for Malone, while Fiadino saw time in 23 games and made 10 starts for Millersville.

Nine of the 18 players who appeared in the PSAC Championship game a season ago for Bloomsburg are back with the team.

Final Notes
Millersville enters the contest boasting solid depth across the board, particularly in its attacking options. The Marauders tied for the conference division lead with six All-PSAC East selections this season, three on the first team and three on the second team. The first-team honorees include defender Kehmar Green, forward Zander Leik, and midfielder Roy Parkyn. Green's first all-conference honor comes after a second-year jump for the lengthy center back. Leik's first career All-PSAC distinction comes after a breakout campaign for the Marauder's top goal scorer and one of the more potent counter-attacking forwards in the conference. Parkyn's second first-team accolades comes after tying for second on the team in goals and assists. On the second team for Millersville is outside back Fallou Cisse and freshman forwards Brian O'Neill and Juan Ortiz Escobar. Cisse's first all-conference honor comes after a solid season defending and distributing down the left wing for the Marauders. O'Neill and Ortiz added to the attacking depth for Millersville, as O'Neill's four goals in his last two games tied home for second on the team, while Ortiz led the Marauders with five assists. 

A key to success for Bloomsburg will be controlling the game with its defense. The Huskies have posted 10 shutouts this season, tied for the fifth most in Division II. That defensive record is also good for the eighth-best shutout percentage in the country at .556. The Huskies have given up multiple goals in a game only once this season, that being the team's road defeat to the Marauders earlier this month. In games keeping a clean sheet, Bloomsburg is 6-0-4. The Huskies have been at their most vulnerable this season when on the back foot. When surrendering a goal this season, Bloomsburg is 4-2-2. Remaining aggressive defensively will likely help the Huskies create opportunities on the attacking front.

Bloomsburg has one of the most experienced defensive cores in the country. As previously mentioned, Alicea and Besser have each appeared in 70 games for the Huskies. Alicea is tied among the top 10 active Division II players with 76 career games played, while Besser is one of 45 players with at least 70 appearances. Add in senior defender Micah Diggs (Groton, Conn./Fitch), with 65 career games played, and there is a trio of seniors with 211 appearances between them. In total, the three have started 182 games combined with Bloomsburg. That strong foundation will be heavily relied upon to help the Huskies find a result on Friday. The semifinal will be a clash of youth versus experience, as just five of the Marauders that played the last time the two teams met entered this season with two years of collegiate experience. 

Bloomsburg will need to find shades of its offensive acumen from 2024 if it hopes to replicate its PSAC Championship result from a season ago. The Huskies' scoring offense this season has dropped from 1.81 in 2024 to 1.06 in 2025, a shift from 50th to 158th in the country. A partial reason for that drop off could be the decrease in opportunities at the corner flag. Bloomsburg was 34th in Division II last year with 5.52 corner kicks per contest. That number has also experienced a drop off, this one 3.44 and 160th nationally. If the Huskies can be more aggressive in the final third to attack set pieces, then the team will exponentially increase its goal-scoring opportunities.

Friday's contest will be a battle of in-form forwards. O'Neill and Hollobaugh have each had strong conclusions to the regular season. The Marauder freshman has four goals in his last two matches, featuring two braces, including one in the last meeting between the teams. Hollobaugh has three goals and an assist in his last five contests and has had several near-misses throughout the campaign. The two prominent attackers could have a significant impact on the outcome of Monday's match.

The Huskies have had a flair for the dramatic in their first PSAC Tournament matches under Bassett. In 2022, Bloomsburg overcame a 2-1 deficit at half in its semifinal contest against Gannon to earn a 3-2 victory and advance to the PSAC Championship match. In the Quarterfinal of 2023, the Huskies suffered heartbreak at Steph Pettit Stadium in a 4-2 defeat on penalty kicks. Bloomsburg overcame its past in the 2024 Semifinal to defeat Slippery Rock on penalties en route to the program's first PSAC title. This season, the Huskies advanced to the Semifinals with a golden goal in extra time. While the postseason can be unpredictable, so too can Bloomsburg when the moment is brightest.