IUP-Bloomsburg Box |
Championship Game Video (WHP, Channel 21 - Harrisburg)
Bloomsburg, Pa. - Bloomsburg scored two goals in the first half, one early and one late, and then padded their lead with three more second-half goals all while the defense effectively shut down IUP's attack as the Huskies captured the 2008 PSAC field hockey championship on their home field with a 5-0 win over the Crimson Hawks. The win clinches an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament for the two-time defending national champions.
Just like in yesterday's semifinal match, the Huskies struck first very early in the game, just 2:47 into the contest as Ashley Miller tipped in a loose ball in front of the cage. The goal was assisted by Jamie Vanartsdalen. It remained 1-0 until just under 10 minutes remaining in the first half, when Vanartsdalen scored her third goal of the tournament off an assist from Kelsey Kress to make it 2-0. IUP generated seven penalty corners to just two for Bloomsburg in the first half but were only able to get off three shots, while by contrast, the Huskies scored on two of their three shots in the half.
Bloomsburg's defense stepped up even more in the second half as the Huskies did not allow a single shot or penalty corner by the Crimson Hawks in the second frame. It remained a tight game for most of the early part of the second half up until the 52:28 mark, as Maggey Bloskey made it 3-0 with another goal off a penalty corner and an assist by Samantha Kropa. Then, Bloom added two more insurance goals less than two minutes apart with under five minutes to play to make it 5-0. Breanne Tobin and Whitney Miller tallied the last two goals as all five goals were scored by five different individuals.
The Huskies outshot IUP 13-3 in the game and got 11 penalty corners to IUP's seven.