Bloomsburg Athletics

BLOOMSBURG, Pa. – Visiting West Chester used a dominant first-half surge to defeat Bloomsburg, 24-9, in PSAC East women's lacrosse action Saturday afternoon at Steph Pettit Stadium.
 
West Chester (13-2, 9-1 PSAC East) established control early with an overwhelming 10-goal run in the opening quarter, capitalizing on draw control efficiency and quick-strike offense. Sydney Wasdick opened the scoring just 47 seconds in, sparking a stretch in which the Golden Rams scored 10 goals in a span of just under 10 minutes. The run featured multiple multi-goal bursts, including back-to-back tallies from Wasdick and Marissa Herring, while Kendall Fortune and Lila McMahon-Skates each added goals to extend the margin to 10-0.
 
Bloomsburg (5-10, 3-7 PSAC East) broke through late in the first quarter when Brianna Austin (Plymouth Meeting, Pa./Plymouth Whitemarsh) finished off an assist from Emily Gauker (Mohnton, Pa./Governor Mifflin), halting the run and giving the Huskies momentum heading into the second.
 
The Huskies showed resilience early in the second quarter. Kayla Stressman (Harleysville, Pa./North Penn) opened the frame with a goal off a feed from Emily Simpson (North Wales, Pa./Lansdale Catholic), trimming the deficit to 10-2. After West Chester answered with a quick two-goal response, Marykate Sitko (Pennsburg, Pa./Upper Perkiomen) converted on an assist from Samantha Keck (Denver, Pa./Cocalico) to make it 12-3.
 
West Chester responded with another extended run, scoring four of the next five goals to push the lead to 16-3. The stretch included goals from Fortune, Mia Beilhart, Wasdick, and Gianna Booker as the Golden Rams continued to convert in transition and off turnovers.
 
Bloomsburg closed the half with a positive sequence, as Sitko drew a free-position opportunity and buried her second goal of the game with 32 seconds remaining, sending the teams into halftime with West Chester leading 16-4.
 
In the third quarter, West Chester maintained its offensive pressure with a three-goal run, highlighted by Booker's second of the game and a finish from Dani Bruno.
Bloomsburg answered midway through the period when Alexis Guzylak (Corning, N.Y./Horseheads) scored unassisted, showcasing individual effort to cut into the deficit at 17-5.
 
The Golden Rams countered again with a quick two-goal stretch, including Fortune's fourth of the contest, to extend the lead to 19-5 heading into the final quarter.
 
Despite the deficit, Bloomsburg continued to compete offensively in the fourth quarter with its most productive stretch of the game. Guzylak opened the scoring for the Huskies with a goal off a feed from Reiley Knize (Harleysville, Pa./Souderton), then Kendall Kroniser (St. Michael's, Md./Saints Peter and Paul) followed with an unassisted tally to make it 22-7.
 
After another West Chester goal, Guzylak completed her hat trick on an assist from Gauker, marking one of the Huskies' strongest offensive sequences of the afternoon.
Stressman later added her second goal of the game off a pass from Katie Fry (State College, Pa./State College Area), capping a four-goal quarter for Bloomsburg and highlighting the team's continued offensive execution late.
 
West Chester closed the game with the final goal, finishing off a balanced offensive performance that saw four players record four goals apiece.
 
Guzylak led Bloomsburg with three goals, while Sitko and Stressman each added two. Gauker paced the Huskies with two assists as Bloomsburg generated nine goals on 21 shots and matched West Chester with 17 draw controls, showing competitiveness in key possession areas.
 
Defensively, the Huskies forced 14 West Chester turnovers and created several transition opportunities, with contributions across the field from players like Samantha Keck (Denver, Pa./Cocalico), Madison McNamee (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin), and Delaney Fox (Barto, Pa./Boyertown).
 
Simpson led the Huskies with 11 draw controls, including her 100^th of her career with her third of the game. Madison McNamee (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin) had two ground balls and a caused turnover while Fox picked up a pair of ground balls as well.
 
Emily Graham (Wantagh, N.Y./St. Anthony's) and Naralie Drake split time in goal with Graham making three saves and Drake stopped two.
 
Bloomsburg hits the road for the final two games of the regular season looking to make a postseason push. The Huskies travel to Kutztown on Wednesday for a 3:00 p.m. game before wrapping up the regular season at Millersville on Saturday for a 12:00 p.m. game.