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Women's Soccer Bob Shreve, Assistant Director of Athletics Media Relations

Dominant Defenses Showcased as Gannon Faces Bloomsburg in First Round of NCAA Atlantic Regional

No. 6 GANNON GOLDEN KNIGHTS (12-3-3) vs. No. 3 BLOOMSBURG HUSKIES (15-4-2)
NCAA DIVISION II ATLANTIC REGIONAL
DATE/TIME: Thursday, November 18, 2021 | 3:00 p.m.
STADIUM/LOCATION: Paul Cline Complex l Beckley, W.Va.
 
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NCAA DIVISION II ATLANTIC REGIONAL
Round 1
Thursday, November 18
Game 1 -- No. 6 GANNON (12-3-3) vs. No. 3 Bloomsburg (15-4-2) – 3:00 p.m.
Game 2 -- No. 7 Mercyhurst (14-5-1) at No. 2 Concord (17-0-3) – 6:00 p.m.
Round 2
Saturday, November 20
Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner – 3:00 p.m.
 
GANNON IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
2009 – First Round vs. Indiana (Pa.) – T, 0-0 (IUP advanced 5-4 on penalty kicks)
2012 – First Round vs. West Virginia Wesleyan – L, 2-0
2015 – Second Round vs. Edinboro – L, 2-1 ot
2017 – First Round vs. West Virginia Wesleyan – L, 2-0
 
THE GANNON-BLOOMSBURG SERIES
Gannon leads all-time series 9-8-2
Last Meetings:  Sept. 15, 2018 – Gannon 2, Bloomsburg 0 l RECAP
 
ERIE, Pa. – The Gannon University women's soccer team will make its first appearance in the NCAA Division II Tournament since 2017 on Thursday, Nov. 18 when the Golden Knights face PSAC champion Bloomsburg in the first round of the Atlantic Regional. The contest will take place at 3 p.m. in Beckley, West Virginia at the Paul Cline Complex with Concord University hosting the four-team regional.

Gannon earned the No. 6 seed in the Atlantic Regional and faces a Bloomsburg team that is seeded third after defeating Millersville, 1-0, in the PSAC Championship game on Sunday. MEC champion Concord is seeded second in the regional and hosts the four-team bracket, facing No. 7 seed Mercyhurst in the other semifinal on Thursday at 6 p.m. Thursday's winners will meet at 3 p.m. on Saturday in the second round.

On the other side of the bracket, top-seeded and host Kutztown earned a bye and will host the winner of No. 4 seed Charleston and No. 5 seed West Chester. The Charleston-West Chester match will be played on Friday, Nov. 19, with the second-round game slated for Sunday, Nov. 21.
 
The second-round winners will advance to the highest remaining seed in the Atlantic Region for a chance to play the winner of the East Regional in the national quarterfinals in the third round.

Gannon is making its fifth appearance in the NCAA Tournament under head coach Colin Peterson, the 2021 PSAC West Coach of the Year. The Golden Knights come in with a 12-3-3 record after dropping a 1-0 decision to Millersville in the PSAC Semifinals. They advanced to the Final Four with a 5-3 win over Slippery Rock in the PSAC Quarterfinals. The loss snapped an undefeated string of nine straight contests (8-0-1) and was Gannon's first since October 6. GU is in search of its first NCAA Tournament victory, showing an 0-3-1 record in tournament action.

Bloomsburg owns a 15-4-2 record and is making its third straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament and tenth overall. The Huskies won the Atlantic Region title in 2018 and 2019 under head coach Matt Haney. They did not allow a goal while winning three matches to claim their fifth PSAC title and second in the last three years last weekend. After a 1-0 win over West Chester in the quarterfinals, the Huskies won 2-0 over Mercyhurst in the semifinals and 1-0 over Millersville in the finals. 

Gannon and Bloomsburg have not met on the pitch since 2018, when the Golden Knights claimed a 2-0 victory at Bloomsburg. The Huskies hold a narrow 9-8-2 lead in the all-time series, with the two teams first meeting in 1990. This year's meeting pairs the top two defensive teams in the PSAC, with Bloomsburg allowing just eight goals and Gannon 11.

Now in his 22nd season as head coach, Petersen has put together a balanced team that has been stingy defensively. The recent 2021 PSAC Women's Soccer All-PSAC West Team featured five Golden Knights in addition to Petersen being selected the Coach of the Year for the third time.  
 
Taylor Lewis (Erie, Pa./Harbor Creek) and Laurel Prokopchak (Erie, Pa./Harbor Creek) were named first team All-PSAC West honorees, while Leah Bermudez (Milton, Ontario/Jean Vanier Catholic), Kayla Bevacqua (Welland, Ontario/Notre Dame) and Kennedy Solymosi (Eastlake, Ohio/Lake Catholic) earned second team accolades.
 
Gannon has allowed just 15 goals all year, with nine shutouts. That includes five shutouts in a row at one point. They had not allowed a goal since a 3-1 win over Mercyhurst on October 16 before the Slippery Rock quarterfinal contest.
 
Lewis has enjoyed another outstanding season. The redshirt senior forward is now a four-time All-PSAC West honoree after previously earning first team honors in 2016 and 2017 and second team in 2018. She leads Gannon in points (27), goals (11) and assists (5). She ranks third in the PSAC in points per match and third in goals per game.  The 27 points are tied for ninth in a season, while the 11 goals are tied for eighth.
 
Lewis has moved up to third in career points with 116, is second in goals with 47, and tied for third in assist with 22. She has also broken the Gannon career record with 17 game-winning goals.
 
Sarah Fails (Girard, Pa./Villa Maria) is next in scoring with six goals and four assists for 16 points. The junior midfielder/forward contributed two goals and an assist in the quarterfinal win over Slippery Rock. Bevacqua, a redshirt senior midfielder, adds 14 points on the strength of five goals and four assists. Freshman Gabby Boden (Butler, Pa./Butler) (4 goals-2 assists-10 points) and redshirt senior Megan McCartney (Chicora, Pa./Karns City) (3 goals-4 assists-10 points) are also in double figures.
 
Solymosi has enjoyed an outstanding season in goal. The senior owns an 11-2-3 record in 16 matches, with a 0.86 GAA and .794 save percentage. She has recorded six shutouts along with taking part in two others. Solymosi ranks fifth in the PSAC in GAA and eighth in save percentage, along with sixth in shutouts. She is tied for fifth in a season in shutouts, and has moved into a tie for fourth place in career shutouts with 11. Her 23 career wins in goal are fourth in the career records.  

SCOUTING BLOOMSBURG
Bloomsburg comes in with a 15-4-2 record, with three of the losses by 1-0 scores and the other by 2-1. The Huskies are making their third straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament and tenth overall. They defeated West Chester, Mercyhurst and Millersville in the PSAC Tournament, not allowing a goal in the three matches to claim their fifth PSAC title and second in the last three years. BU allowed just 11 shots in the three tournament games, with five on goal. Abby Groff scored the game-winning goal at 88:12 for a 1-0 win over Millersville in the championship game. Sophomore Alexa Ryan recorded her 14th shutout of the season, a new BU record. In fact, Bloomsburg has allowed just eight goals all year. The Huskies lead the PSAC and rank fourth in Division II in goals against average (0.37). Ryan's 14 shutouts lead Division II. Defender Natalie Holmes was one of three Huskies to earn first team All-PSAC East accolades, and was also selected the Eastern Division Defensive Athlete of the Year. The graduate student is now a three-time All-PSAC honoree. She was also selected the PSAC Tournament MVP. Holmes was joined as a first team All-PSAC East selection by Paige Harris and Helen Flynn. Harris is a senior forward and Flynn a senior midfielder. Holmes leads the Huskies with five goals and seven assists for 17 points. Groff and Harris add four goals and three assists for 11 points. Flynn has also scored four goals.   
 
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Players Mentioned

Leah Bermudez

#25 Leah Bermudez

D/M
5' 4"
Junior
Psychology
Kayla Bevacqua

#17 Kayla Bevacqua

M/D
5' 5"
Redshirt Senior
Sport and Exercise Science
Sarah Fails

#7 Sarah Fails

F
5' 4"
Junior
Taylor Lewis

#10 Taylor Lewis

F
5' 5"
Redshirt Senior
Health Science
Megan McCartney

#12 Megan McCartney

M/F
5' 1"
Redshirt Senior
Sport Management and Marketing
Laurel Prokopchak

#9 Laurel Prokopchak

M
5' 7"
Senior
Accounting
Kennedy Solymosi

#21 Kennedy Solymosi

GK
5' 3"
Senior
Physician Assistant
Gabby Boden

#11 Gabby Boden

M
5' 7"
Freshman

Players Mentioned

Leah Bermudez

#25 Leah Bermudez

5' 4"
Junior
Psychology
D/M
Kayla Bevacqua

#17 Kayla Bevacqua

5' 5"
Redshirt Senior
Sport and Exercise Science
M/D
Sarah Fails

#7 Sarah Fails

5' 4"
Junior
F
Taylor Lewis

#10 Taylor Lewis

5' 5"
Redshirt Senior
Health Science
F
Megan McCartney

#12 Megan McCartney

5' 1"
Redshirt Senior
Sport Management and Marketing
M/F
Laurel Prokopchak

#9 Laurel Prokopchak

5' 7"
Senior
Accounting
M
Kennedy Solymosi

#21 Kennedy Solymosi

5' 3"
Senior
Physician Assistant
GK
Gabby Boden

#11 Gabby Boden

5' 7"
Freshman
M