BLOOMSBURG, Pa. - The Bloomsburg women's soccer team settled in well into the 2025 home slate, defeating West Virginia State, 4-0, Saturday afternoon.

Steph Pettit Stadium witnessed offensive fireworks throughout the contest, with two goals in each half to bookend a strong first week of the season. The Huskies (2-0) took just past the half-hour mark to find the first goal, as a ball sent into the box took several touches before leading to Kennedie Huber's (Mountain Top, Pa./Crestwood) first career points and goal. Bloomsburg kept the pressure on the Yellow Jackets (0-2), doubling the advantage with less than three minutes remaining in the first half, with another strong combination play put away by Olivia Thompson (Pottstown, Pa./Owen J. Roberts) for a goal and an assist in her initial 20 minutes off the bench. 

The floodgates remained open throughout the second half, as the Huskies continued to overwhelm West Virginia State. Alexa Arrigale (Blackwood, N.J./Highland Regional) helped put the game away with a tremendously executed counter-attack, receiving a well-weighted ball from the defensive end, taking an inside touch, and slotting home her first goal of the season. Freshman Viktorya Luckenbach (Schuylkill Haven, Pa./Pine Grove Area) capped off her second career by showcasing a tremendous work rate, winning the ball from the frontline pressure and beating the goalkeeper one-on-one to tally a goal and an assist.

How It Happened:
Bloomsburg showed early the amount of pressure it would put on the West Virginia State defense in the opening 20 minutes. The Huskies drew four of their five corners on the day inside 15 minutes of play. Anna Dalesandro's (Robesonia, Pa./Conrad Weiser) feet were active in the opening run, stepping and delivering on each of the dead balls. Bloomsburg had several cracks at the net, with attempts from Daryn Savage (Bensalem, Pa./Archbishop Wood) and Emma Wilkinson (Smithtown, N.Y./Smithtown West) forcing saves out of the Yellow Jackets' goalkeeper Poppy Bastock.

West Virginia State was aggressive with its chances outside of the box throughout the contest. That pattern began to show in the 22nd minute, as Samantha Merklin (Effort, Pa./Pleasant Valley) had to redirect a Laura Pouedras shot over the crossbar from 24 yards out for a corner.

The next attempts at goal in the ensuing minutes did not strike fear into either side as time continued to tick away in the second half. In the 36th minute, Lindsey Bull (Bloomsburg, Pa./Central Columbia) won a free kick and placed it well into the box on her subsequent kick. Initially, cleared away, Makayla Lear (Orangeville, Pa./Benton Area) caught West Virginia State's back four unable to reset, allowing Thompson to find a pocket of space to the left of the goal. Her high-winding central ball lofted over two defenders and Huber to reach the feet of Haley Bull (Bloomsburg, Pa./Central Columbia). The freshman dinked the ball ever so slightly forward to Huber in front of the net, as the junior put away her first career goal. 

It did not take long for a trio of Bloomsburg substitutes to link up once more, doing so in the 43rd minute. A quick throw-in following a scoring threat from the Yellow Jackets allowed the Huskies to push the ball into the final third. Bull got too much space, providing ample time for an in-swinging cross from her left foot. Luckenbach was on the receiving end, heading the ball down centrally to Thompson, who helped initiate the build-up play before finishing off the sequence from a poaching position to send the game into the halftime break at 2-0.

Just over seven minutes past the halftime whistle, the Bloomsburg advantage ballooned to three. The Huskies turned defense into offense, with Brooke Coco (Blackwood, N.J./Paul VI) taking a tremendous step to take away a swing pass to the right side. Coco's challenge came with a controlling touch in stride before delivering a through ball to Arrigale. The senior forward worked with the ball to the left side of the box and eventually caught the goalkeeper off guard with a slotted finish on her left foot to the bottom right corner.

The deficit forced West Virginia State to be more aggressive on the offensive side of the field, forcing Merklin to help her side when called upon. The attempts started rolling in prior to the Huskies' third goal, as a long-range crack from Sara París Fílter rattled the top of the crossbar for a goal kick. Fílter's efforts from distance continued moments later from a direct free kick, with this effort forcing another sprawl and heavy punch from Merklin out of play. Maika Nchana Choni for the Yellow Jackets raced behind the Bloomsburg defense in the 59th minute before Merklin parried away the attempt. Merklin's day concluded as the Huskies' shot stopper was able to come away with her remaining saves on the afternoon comfortably.

As Bloomsburg continued peppering shots at cage to build upon a high-octane day, its final tally of the afternoon was a display of the tenacity that got the team to the final result. Against a spread-out back six from the Yellow Jackets, Luckenbach drove directly at a West Virginia State defensive midfielder to win a challenge. The touch on the ball split right between the center defensive pair, allowing the speedy Luckenbach to race toward the goalkeeper one-on-one. The freshman displayed veteran poise, going over the top of a veteran Bastock to slot home her first career goal and cap off a well-earned result.

Numbers of Note:
4 - The Huskies showcased their depth on Saturday after getting goal contributions from six different players. Four of the said six were substitutes for Bloomsburg, seamlessly stepping into their intended roles with favorable results.

11 & 108 - With back-to-back clean sheets to begin the 2025 campaign, senior goalkeeper Merklin now has 11 in her Bloomsburg career. That mark places the Effort, Pa. native into sole possession with the 10th most in program history. Merklin now has 11 shutouts in her 21 career games with the Huskies. The senior reached an additional milestone, recording her 100th save at Bloomsburg, giving her 313 total in her collegiate career.

2011 - The Huskies' flying start at home was one of their best on home turf in recent memory. The four goals scored on Saturday were the most in a home opener for Bloomsburg women's soccer since posting four against Davis & Elkins in a 4-0 result in 2011.

On the Horizon:
The Bloomsburg women's soccer team is back at Steph Pettit Stadium on Wednesday, September 10, at 6:00 p.m. to open action in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) against Mansfield.