Oct. 5, 2005

Final Stats

Slippery Rock, Pa. - Chris Byers collected a loose ball off a deflected header by Jeff Hamley and put it in the back of the net with three seconds left in overtime Wednesday to give The Rock a 2-1 win over visiting Bloomsburg in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference action on James W. Egli Soccer Field.

The win was SRU's fourth straight and second OT triumph in as many games; the victory improved The Rock's overall record to 7-5-1 and upped its PSAC mark to 6-3-1.

More importantly, the victory kept SRU atop the conference standings. The Rock has 19 points to lead East Stroudsburg (and possibly California) by one point in the point system that awards three points for a win and one point for a tie.

East Stroudsburg (8-4-1 overall, 6-4 PSAC) kept the pressure on SRU with a 3-1 win over Kutztown on Wednesday. California (6-5, 5-4) began the day tied with ESU for second place and hosted fourth-place Lock Haven (6-4-2, 4-2-2) on Wednesday.

The Rock visits Lock Haven for a 1 p.m. game on Saturday.

SRU held a 1-0 lead over Bloomsburg at halftime of Wednesday's game, thanks to a Gary Saunders goal in the 30th minute of play off an assist by Nick Christy.

Bloomsburg tied the score at 1-1 and ultimately sent the game into overtime with a goal in the 83rd minute of play.

Bloomsburg outshot The Rock by an 18-11 margin, but both Rock goalie Chris Cook and his counterpart, the Huskies' Jon Keller, finished with six saves.

After visiting Lock Haven on Saturday, The Rock will return home to host West Chester (5-5-2, 4-4-1) on Tuesday (Oct. 11) at 1 p.m. on Egli Field.

The latest PSAC standings can be found at www.psacsports.org.