BLOOMSBURG, Pa. - The Bloomsburg men's soccer team fought its way from a trailing position twice on Wednesday to pull off a 2-2 draw at Steph Pettit Stadium against Shepherd.
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The Huskies (4-3-2, 0-2-1 PSAC East) were down 2-1 with under 30 seconds to play and with one last set piece from the corner flag. The ball played in by
Caleb Sitler (Palmyra, Pa./Palmyra) connected with
Alex Hess (Oyster Bay, N.Y./Oyster Bay) at the near post for the header, with his shot denied by the Rams' (4-1-3, 1-1-2 PSAC East) goalkeeper, Aidan Houck. Houck's save, however, spilled inside the six-yard box. With no time to spare,
Andrew Beagle (Bloomsburg, Pa./Central Columbia) took advantage of his position in front of the net to fire home the goal and secure a point in the conference standings for Bloomsburg.
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How It Happened:
The final moments of the Huskies' midweek contest were not the first time the home side trailed on Wednesday. Bloomsburg found itself down 1-0 inside the first 20 minutes played following the opening goal from Shepherd. The Rams played a long pass deep in their own half down the left side before eventually getting space to play a through ball towards the endline. With a target in sight, the pass took a deflection off the heel of a Husky defender. Moulay El Yagouti, using the inside of his left arm to settle the ball down, then roofed the ball into the top of the net with his left foot to give the visitors a 1-0 lead.
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Bloomsburg would not be able to bring themselves even within the confines of the first half, as the pressure from Shepherd kept the Huskies off-balance. Bloomsburg managed to fire away a few chances toward goal in the final 15 minutes, with
Logan Savage (Bensalem, Pa./Archbishop Wood) having a miss stay wide on an inside-darting run while
Zayd DeVeaux (Philadelphia, Pa./Springside Chestnut Hill Academy) and Hess took their chances from range in an attempt to catch Houck off his guard.
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The Huskies, coming out with a high-intensity demeanor and fervent determination, were the aggressors for the second half. Their efforts were rewarded in the 61st minute with the 1-1 equalizer. Catalyzing most of the night, Sitler made a run down the right wing to get to a service from midfield. The forward cut back to his inside twice to get past a pair of defenders before getting a shot off on his preferred left foot. His attempt, initially stopped by Houck, slipped through the arms and legs of the Rams' shotstopper to get behind him. In a race to the ball,
Owen Hollobaugh (State College, Pa./State College) got his foot out and extended to poke the ball over the line and tie the match.
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Wanting more than a draw, Bloomsburg remained on the attacking front for the remainder of the contest, with Shepherd content to catch the Huskies on the counter-attack in hopes of another go-ahead goal. The Rams would manage just that moment in the 84th minute to pull out in front once again. Shepherd cleared the ball out of its defensive half and forced a rushed clearance attempt from Bloomsburg in its half. The ball found its way to midfield, with a one-two pass between the Rams allowing Reyes Torres to spring free into the midfield, settling into enough time and space outside the box to put enough power on a shot that could not be corralled.
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Shepherd made its best attempts to kill time off the clock in hopes of the victory, as the Huskies could not get the ball in their opponents' half for extended possession for almost two minutes following the restart of play. Bloomsburg began to mount the pressure it had earlier in the second half inside the final three minutes, stacking its attacking movements to push the Rams deeper into the final third. The Huskies' backs were against the ball as less than a minute remained in the contest, and Shepherd fired off a goal kick. Bloomsburg won the ball back and drew a free kick. The subsequent kick bounced off a defender for the Rams and eventually set up the end-game play. The sequence began with a quick start by
Ty Mikula (State College, Pa./Western Reserve), who played a quick pass to Sitler, with the Huskies getting a series of fortunate bounces to come away with the draw.
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Number of Note:
13-4 - Bloomsburg's attempts to get back into the match game from an aggressive edge in the attacking third. With Shepherd hoping and willing to come away with the result as is, the Huskies came out of the break with their sights set on goal. Bloomsburg finished with a 13-4 edge in shots over the visiting Rams in the second half, including a 6-1 edge in shots on target.
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4 - Bloomsburg soccer matches have seen a fair share of last-second goals this season. Wednesday's match marked the fourth contest this season in which a team has found the back of the net inside the final minute of the match. It is the third time the Huskies have scored a goal within the final 90 seconds this season and the second time with a goal inside the final 30.
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On the Horizon:
The Huskies begin a three-game road stretch on Saturday, September 26, at 1:00 p.m. with a PSAC matchup against Millersville.
