Women's Soccer | 11/20/2025 10:00:00 AM

BLOOMSBURG, Pa. - The No. 5 seed Bloomsburg women's soccer team sets off on its NCAA Tournament adventure on Friday, November 21, at 1:00 p.m. against No. 4 seed Gannon. 

The Huskies enter Friday with a record of 10-6-2 overall and a 7-5-2 record in action during the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) slate in the Eastern Division. Bloomsburg is most recently coming off a 2-1 defeat in the opening round of the PSAC Tournament against Millersville. The Golden Knights hold a 15-2-2 record entering the tournament and went 11-1-2 in the PSAC West to finish as the two seed in the division. The last time out, Gannon suffered a 2-0 loss to the eventual PSAC Champions, Atlantic Region No. 1 seed, and site host Shepherd.

The Huskies qualified for the NCAA Tournament for the 12th time in program history on Monday and the fifth under the guidance of head coach Matt Haney. Bloomsburg has made it to the second round of the tournament in six of those 11 previous appearances. 

Fans can purchase tickets in advance with the following link. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for children, K-12, and college students.

Inside the Matchup
The Huskies' and Golden Knights' paths have crossed several times over the years in the two teams' shared histories, but recent matchups have occurred during the postseason. Overall, the two sides have met on 20 occasions since 1990, with the most recent meeting being the 2022 PSAC Semifinal in Erie. Bloomsburg owns a slim edge in the lifetime series with a 10-8-2 advantage. Since 2015, Gannon possesses a 2-4-1 series advantage.

The two sides have faced off in postseason play three times, all coming since 2015 with Haney. The first match of the three was a 3-1 defeat for the Huskies at the hands of the Golden Knights in 2015. The matchup was a PSAC Quarterfinal contest in Erie in which Gannon netted two second-half goals to get the win. In the second, a neutral-site NCAA Tournament meeting in Beckley, W. Va., in 2021, Bloomsburg captured a 2-1 victory in extra time with a game-winner in the 97th minute. In the last match between the sides during the 2022 PSAC Semifinals, the Golden Knights walked away with a 3-1 victory on their home field to advance to the Championship Game. In true neutral site matches, the Huskies are 2-0.

Gannon enters the NCAA Tournament field with an impressive resume. The Golden Knights enter the tournament with the most goals scored among the five selected PSAC schools, with 59 (3.1 per contest), the second-most among the regional field. Gannon also holds one of the best defensive records in the PSAC, with 14 goals allowed and a .74 goals against average. The Golden Knights enter the NCAA Tournament with an average margin of 2.37 per match. Head coach Colin Petersen is in his 26th season with the Gannon women's soccer program and 24th overall in charge of the Golden Knights. Petersen has a 14-19-3 record in postseason matches. Overall, Petersen is 236-166-46 (.578). The gaffer has led Gannon to the NCAA Tournament in eight seasons and is 5-7-2 in those contests. Since the start of the 2022 season, the Golden Knights are 10-6-1 in the postseason with a 5-3-1 mark on the national stage.

A contingent of core contributors across the formation heavily influences the success Gannon has had on the pitch this season. The Golden Knights finished with the most All-PSAC selections in the West this season and the second most overall in the conference, with seven. That list for Gannon includes six first-team representatives and one second-team selection. 

The Golden Knights' defense is led by experienced players Destinee Robertson and Hannah Shepherd. Robertson, the senior, makes her second all-conference nod as an outside back. Shepherd, a three-time All-PSAC West honoree, helps to keep things clean along the central region of the back line. Defending the net for the Golden Knights is three-time all-conference selection and two-time first-team representative Morgan Sinan, who has a 0.62 goals against average in over 1444 minutes played.

In the midfield, Gannon's efforts are orchestrated by two-time All-PSAC West First Team choices Grace Emanuel and Ella Fadale. Emanuel was a primary goal-scoring threat for the Golden Knights over the last two seasons, and while the midfielder might have a career low in goals for her standards (6), she has made up for it with a team-high 10 assists. Fadale's breakout campaign sees the senior as the team's top goal scorer with 16 this season after entering 2025 with 18 in her first three seasons. While not an all-conference selection, freshman Olivia Dixon put up an impressive first season with Gannon to the tune of seven goals and five assists. 

Up top, the Golden Knights' attacking efforts are spearheaded by first-team choice Brooklyn Respecki and second-team selection Jessie Watkins. Respecki, the active team leader in points with 106, has tallied 10 goals and seven assists in 16 games this season to earn her third first-team honor in as many seasons. Watkins' second season saw the sophomore become an important playmaker for Gannon, finishing second on the team with eight assists while adding four goals.

Handcrafted By Haney
In his 11 seasons at the helm, Bloomsburg head coach Haney has left his mark on the women's soccer program. Last season, Haney became the third coach in program history to surpass 100 career wins and has since become the second-winningest coach at Bloomsburg. With the team's 10th victory of the season of the season, Haney tied Chuck Laudermilch for the second-most double-digit win seasons in program history. In his tenure, Haney has accumulated a 121-53-26 (.670) record entering Friday's contest. That .670 winning percentage is the second-highest for a coach in team history.

Haney is no stranger to the postseason in his time at Bloomsburg. The Huskies' inclusion into the NCAA Tournament field marks the fifth time in 11 seasons Haney has taken Bloomsburg into the national postseason. It is the first time since the 11th-year coach guided his team to four consecutive NCAA Tournament berths between 2018 to 2022. Haney is the only coach in team history to lead the Huskies to four consecutive NCAA postseasons, a stretch that included the first NCAA Elite Eight appearances in program history, back-to-back appearances in 2018 and 2019. In his tenure at Bloomsburg, Haney holds an 11-11-1 record in postseason matches. In NCAA Tournament games, Haney is 5-4. With the Huskies' inclusion in the PSAC Tournament, the team has qualified for the conference tournament in 10 consecutive seasons under Haney's guidance. Under his tutelage, Bloomsburg student-athletes have earned eight All-America accolades, 36 all-region distinctions, and 35 all-conference designations.

Hitting the Mark
In what was a fast start for the offense, Bloomsburg will need to be at its best in the final third. In their first 13 contests of the season, the Huskies averaged two per contest with 26 scored. In that stretch, the team was 9-2-2. Since October 25, Bloomsburg has found the back of the net just four times in its last five contests. The Huskies are 1-4 in that stretch, including three defeats to the top three seeds of the Atlantic Region field.

The Huskies' leading goal scorer entering the postseason run is junior defender Daryn Savage (Bensalem, Pa./Archbishop Wood). Savage is having a career year in her first full go as a significant contributor. Entering the postseason, the junior has five goals and one assist. Tied with Savage in total points is junior attacker Olivia Thompson (Pottstown, Pa./Owen J. Roberts). Thompson has also experienced an uptick in production in her third season, recording career highs in goals (4) and assists (3). Thompson had an assist in Bloomsburg's PSAC First Round match against Millersville and will look to find the back of the net for the first time since October 1. 

The Huskies will also hope for a return to form for senior forward Alexa Arrigale (Blackwood, N.J./Highland Regional). After scoring four goals in her first five games, Arrigale missed the team's next 11 games due to injury. Bloomsburg will hope that the senior's last three matches played have helped the attacker work back into form. The Huskies will need a spark along the wings, hopefully from the presence of forwards Anika Krasnai (Lancaster, Pa./Manheim Township) and Emma Wilkinson (Smithtown, N.Y./Smithtown West). The upperclassmen have registered two goals and three assists apiece and will play critical roles in helping Bloomsburg push up the field. Krasnai earned second-team All-PSAC East honors this season for her efforts.

The Huskies midfield contingent will hope to steer the team's efforts in the right direction. Junior Anna Dalesandro (Robesonia, Pa./Conrad Weiser) is the fulcrum of the squad and the team leader with four assists. Sydney Donovan (Middletown, Del./Appoquinimink) is one of five players on the squad with at least three goals. The midfielder is a threat to score from anywhere outside the box. Laci Bell (Baltimore, Md./Sparrows Point) is coming off having scored her first goal of the season for Bloomsburg in its PSAC Tournament match against Millersville. The junior additionally has two assists.

Overall, the Huskies have 12 players with a goal, including nine with multiple. 14 players have an assist, with eight having at least two. 

Refortify
A key to successful teams under Haney has been stingy defensive cores and tendencies. Through the team's first nine games, the Huskies posted five shutouts. In the nine games since, the team has registered just one. Bloomsburg was 6-1-2 in the first half compared to 4-5 in the back half. Bloomsburg has only given up more than two goals in a single match this season once. Only two PSAC teams, Shepherd and Millersville, have totaled more than two goals against Bloomsburg this season. If the Huskies want to make a deep postseason run, the team will hope to end a stretch of seven consecutive matches with a goal allowed.

A key piece to improved defensive showings will be the play of senior goalkeeper Samantha Merklin (Effort, Pa./Pleasant Valley). The three-time All-PSAC East selection, being recently named a second-team all-conference selection, and a two-time all-region nominee a season ago, will be relied upon to establish a level of composure across the Bloomsburg backline. Merklin has 81 saves across 18 matches for an .818 save percentage and 1.05 goals against average in 2025 with five solo shutouts and one combined clean sheet.

Among active Division II goalkeepers, Merklin is ninth in minutes played, clocking in over 5,841 in her 67 games played over four seasons. The senior is second among D-II shot stoppers and tied for 20th among all NCAA goalkeepers with 383 career saves. Over her career, Merklin has averaged 5.72 saves per contest, the 15th-highest average among active D-II goalkeepers. The Huskies will begin postseason action with one of the most experienced and battle-tested goalkeepers in the entire tournament. If the senior can get the necessary assistance, Bloomsburg can make things challenging for any team they come up against.  

Trends to Follow
The key for the Huskies on Friday will be slowing down the catalysts of a potent Golden Knights' attack. Emanuel, Fadale, and Respecki are part of an experienced attacking core that have registered 202 combined games. Each of the three players has at least 33 career goals and 73 points in their careers. Emanuel and Respecki are among a group of nine active players in Division II with at least 30 goals and 20 assists. Between the trio, there are 164 goals and 57 assists. In Gannon's 2-0 defeat to Shepherd in the PSAC Quarterfinal, the three players were held to seven total shots with just three on goal. Bloomsburg will need to find a way to similarly slow down the Golden Knights if the team wants to capitalize on its opportunity.

Bloomsburg will need to flip the script on its recent scoring output to have a chance at making a deep postseason run. The Huskies sit around the Division II average with shots on goal per game (5.56). However, the team is 215th out of 250 qualified teams in Division II and 16th out of 17th in the PSAC in shot accuracy at .431. Bloomsburg managed to find the back of the net once on three shots on goal the last time out aginst the Marauders. The Huskies will need to generate more volume in the final third to compete with the top offenses in the region.

While Gannon's Sinan is one of the more experienced shot stoppers in the NCAA Tournament field (72 matches, 67 starts), the graduate goalkeeper is not always the most active in her team's matches. Across her five seasons, Sinan has faced 338 total shots, 180 of which have been on target. Across her 5681 career minutes played, that equates to an average of 5.35 shots faced per 90 minutes. Sinan has made 135 saves in her career, averaging only 1.875 per contest. The Golden Knights will play to keep their goaltender free from pressure. Bloomsburg may have the ability to catch off guard a goalkeeper who is not always the most involved.

Gannon is one of the most dangerous offenses in the nation. The Golden Knights are among the top 10 in the country in 10 different offensive categories, including first in shots per game (23.53), second in shots on goal per match (11.63), and second in corner kicks per contest (9.11). The Huskies will need to find a way to sustain meaningful spells of possession on the ball to alleviate the pressure Gannon applies in the final third.

In the last NCAA meeting between the two teams, Bloomsburg capitalized on several mistakes by the Golden Knights. The Huskies' first goal in that meeting came from a penalty kick with minutes remaining in the opening half. Bloomsburg, while maintaining significant offensive pressure in the second half, used its defensive acumen to force overtime after an early goal for Gannon. In that extended period, the Huskies once again forced a mistake from the Golden Knights, this time with the Gannon going down to 10 players over halfway into extra time. 45 seconds following that red card, Bloomsburg capitalized and found the game-winner. While each season is different, the last NCAA meeting between the teams is an example of the chaos that can ensue with everything up for grabs. The Huskies will once more need to find and thrive in the chaos November brings. 

The winner of the contest will advance to the NCAA Tournament Second Round on Sunday, November 23, for a 1:00 p.m. meeting with host and Atlantic Region No. 1 seed Shepherd.