BLOOMSBURG—Bloomsburg University won its third straight and 13th overall Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) field hockey championship with a 1-0 win over Indiana (PA) on Saturday afternoon.
The Huskies were on the attack in the early going of with a shot by freshman Ashley Heckard (Millerstown/Greenwood) two and half minutes into the game going just wide. IUP came back and controlled the field of play over a six minute stretch of time with the Indians' Fleur Tjong taking a shot that was knocked out on a kick save by Bloomsburg goalie Tracey Hudak (Sweet Valley/Lake-Lehman).
Bloomsburg came back with field control and had seven penalty corner plays in an eight minute stretch, but were denied each time. The Huskies finally broke through on their eighth corner of the half when Alison Poff (Dallastown/Dallastown) crossed a pass to Heckard, who beat IUP goalie Jamie Parell with a shot to the right corner of the goal. For Heckard it was her 12th goal of the season and her second of the post-season.
In the second half, IUP controlled the flow of play for much of the first 15 minutes of action. Just two and a half minutes into the second half, Hudak came up with a kick save on a shot off an Indian corner play to keep the Indians scoreless. Then later, Hudak made three saves in a two minute stretch on direct shots by IUP's Liz Martini off of penalty corners. Those saves would prove to be the last good looks at the goal for the game.
Bloomsburg tried to get a insurance goal with just over two minutes left to play, but the Huskies' Kristy Kropa (Tunkhannock/Lackawanna Trail) had her shot blocked by the IUP's Parell to keep the Indians in the game.
However, in the final two minutes, the ball remained in the IUP end of the field and the Huskies were able to celebrate another championship.
Bloomsburg goalie Tracey Hudak was named the game's MVP after coming up with 10 saves for the game against one of the PSAC's top scoring teams.
Field Hockey Game Summary (Final)
Indiana (PA) (17-4) vs. Bloomsburg Univ. (19-3)
Date: Oct 30, 2004 Attendance: 175
Goals by period 1 2 Tot
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Indiana (PA)........ 0 0 - 0
Bloomsburg Univ..... 1 0 - 1
SCORING SUMMARY:
1. 28:58 BLOOM-FH Ashley Heckard (12) (Alison Poff) - Cross passing from Alison Poff
Shots: Indiana (PA) 10, Bloomsburg Univ. 13
Saves: Indiana (PA) 6 (Jamie Parell 6), Bloomsburg Univ. 10 (Tracey Hudak 10)