The Shippensburg University men's soccer team scored two goals in a 1:43 span of the second half Wednesday night to achieve a 2-1 comeback victory over Bloomsburg in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division clash at Steph Pettit Stadium.
Shippensburg (3-6-5, 2-6-0) trailed 1-0 entering the 79th minute, at which point its vigilant second-half pressure reaped a pair of rewards.
After an attempted clear out of the box,
John Trigg collected the ball in close proximity to the 18 and ripped a superlative volley that flew into the top left corner – a magisterial goal that evened the match at 1-1.
Shortley thereafter,
Conway Brown II won a challenge in front of the Raider bench and quickly sent a pass forward to
Coy Rush, who began a run in which he maneuvered around a defender and directed the ball toward the crease.
The ball matriculated onto the foot of
Mathieu Barbirati, who won a 1-v-1 matchup with the keeper by decisively sending a strike into the net that gave a jubilant group of Raiders a 2-1 lead they would hold through the final whistle.
Bloomsburg (5-6-5, 1-4-3) got a goal in the 17th minute from Caleb Sitler that forced SU to play from behind for a majority of the match. After weathering a Husky storm and making it into the intermission down just one, the Raiders had a great look at an equalizer early in the second half when a shot by
Julius Dogan sailed above the crossbar.
Dogan had another chance in the 77th minute that soared high. It prefaced the back-to-back strikes that tilted the score line in Shippensburg's favor.
The Raiders nearly made it 3-1 in the 82nd minute, as Rush fired a long shot that rang off the crossbar.
Ryan Krumenacker was staunch between the pipes, making five saves in the victory.
Corner kicks were 6-1 in Bloomsburg's favor. The teams combined for five yellow cards (three by the Raiders, two by the Huskies).
Wednesday's victory gives SU a season sweep of the Huskies for the first time since the league switched its divisional schedule to home-and-home season series seven years ago. It gives the Raiders their first back-to-back wins over Bloomsburg in the overall series since triumphs in 2018 and 2019.
Shippensburg hosts East Stroudsburg for Senior Day at 3 p.m. Saturday at David See Field in its home finale. The Raiders will recognize eight players before the match:
Evan Brandt,
Maddox Davies,
Cam Henry, Krumenacker,
Jack McCann, Rush,
Love Thoren and Trigg.
