TICKETS   |   PSAC Tournament Central
 
SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. — The Slippery Rock University men's soccer team's quest for a ninth Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Championship will continue with a road test at No. 13 Bloomsburg University in the PSAC Semifinals 12 p.m. Friday.
 
The Rock enter as the second seed in the PSAC West, having amassed a 9-4-4 overall record on the year. The top-seeded Huskies of the PSAC East went 14-3-1 through the regular season, a mark that includes a 7-2-1 showing in league play.
 
WATCH LIVE
Fans can watch Friday's game live for free via the links below provided by Bloomsburg Athletic Communications.
 
TICKETS
Fans can purchase tickets on the PSAC Tournament Central website page or at this LINK provided by the PSAC. All entry into Bloomsburg's Steph Pettit Stadium will require tickets with all transactions being cashless. Adult ticket prices are $10, while tickets for students in 12^th grade or younger are $5. PSAC Institutional Passes will be honored.
 
PSAC Tournament Semifinals
Opponent: Bloomsburg
Date: Friday – 12 p.m.
Location: Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania  
Venue: Steph Pettit Stadium
Live Video: PSAC Sports Digital Network
Live Stats: Bloomsburg Athletic Communications
In-game Updates: X (@Rock_Athletics)
All-Time Series: 13-12-5
Current Streak: L1
Last Played: Oct. 6, 2018 at Bloomsburg (SRU lost, 4-1)
 
SERIES HISTORY
The Rock and the Huskies will be meeting for the 31^st time in series history but the first time in PSAC Tournament history. Slippery Rock earned a 13-12-5 record against Bloomsburg when the teams met almost annually from 1980-2018.
 
Slippery Rock is 6-5-3 against the Huskies when playing Bloomsburg on the road but have not come away from BU with a victory since a 2-1 decision in 2013.
 
Bloomsburg is set to become the 10^th different opponent Slippery Rock has faced in a PSAC Tournament game in program history, with SRU accumulating a 13-10 conference postseason record since 1974.
 

TEAM COMPARISON
THE ROCK	Stats	BLOOM
9-4-4	Overall Record	14-3-1
5-2-3	Conference Record	7-2-1
1.8	Goals per Game	1.9
1.4	Opp. Goals per Game	0.7
+7	Season Goal Differential	+23
12.3	Shots per Game	14.8
10.0	Opp. Shots per Game	7.9
5.2	SOG per Game	6.2
4.6	Opp. SOG per Game	3.3
1.6	Assists per Game	2.0
5.6	Corners per Game	5.7
11.3	Fouls per Game	11.8
3.2	Saves per Game	2.7

 
THE ROCK BY THE NUMBERS
Overall Record: 9-4-4
PSAC West Record: 5-2-3
Home Record: 4-2-3
Away Record: 5-2-1
PSAC West Rank: 2^nd of 6
Streak: W1
Last Five: 4-0-1
Head Coach: Kevin Wilhelm | Seventh season at SRU (39-52-16)
Roster: Stats
Link: Stats
 
LAST TIME OUT
Slippery Rock earned its first PSAC Tournament Quarterfinal win since 2015 by defeating Seton Hill in a 1-0 decision at James Egli Field Nov. 11.
 
The Rock were outshot 15-6 but converted their lone second-half shot attempt when Aashi Pandher scored in the 55^th minute to put SRU ahead.
 
Seton Hill claimed edges in shots on goal (4-2) and corner kicks (3-1) as well. Adam Davies made three saves against Seton Hill's 15 shots – including 10 second-half shots – to post a third shutout of the season and a fifth career blank slate.
 
Rasmus Fugl led The Rock with three shots, while Aitor Jorde and Arturo Pla Hernandis joined Pandher with one each.
 
LEADING THE ROCK
Slippery Rock's offense has been spearheaded by Jorde and Pla Hernandis, who each recorded 14 points through the regular season. Pla Hernandis scored a team-high seven goals, while Jorde netted five goals and assisted on four others.
 
Fugl has become a staple of SRU's attacking third this year as well, now with nine points from four goals and an assist. Both Aaron Finney and Shaun Spencer have seven points, with Finney scoring three goals and assisting once and Spencer scoring twice and tallying three assists.
 
Luke Gildea and Colton Swanson have each piled up six points from two goals and two assists, while Ignacio Rullan leads the team with five assists. Colton Spence joins Rullan with five points, coming from two goals and an assist.
 
Pandher's playoff goal propelled him to four points on a goal and two assists. Ryan Hanes now has three points to his sophomore resume with a goal and an assist, while Jack Smith's three points have comprised of three assists. Jacob Glancy and Will Harrigan have each registered one goal for two points with Pandher logging two assists this year.
 
Jimmy Irani, Gabin Lonjard and Kaden Reynolds round out the 17 players with points with one assist per player.
 
Jorde has taken a squad-high 40 shots with 15 landing on target. Pla Hernandis leads SRU with 18 shots on goal, accounting for 47.4 percent of his 38 total attempts.
 
WHERE THEY STAND
As the victors of the PSAC Quarterfinals in the western half of the bracket, second-seeded Slippery Rock gets paired up with the PSAC East's top-seeded Bloomsburg Huskies for the semifinal round.
 
Third-seeded West Chester University upset reigning PSAC Champions Millersville University in the eastern portion of the quarterfinals. That game was drawn 1-1 with the Golden Rams advancing on penalty kicks, 5-4. WCU will take to the field 3 p.m. Friday to face Gannon University, which earned the top seed in the PSAC West.
 
The winners of both of Friday's games will meet again in Bloomsburg 1 p.m. Sunday to determine the 2024 PSAC Championship.
 
THE ROCK IN THE PLAYOFFS
SRU is 13-10 all-time in the PSAC Tournament following its quarterfinal win over Seton Hill this week. While The Rock have played just five PSAC Tournament games in the last nine years, they've won four of those five matches.
 
The Rock will be playing their ninth PSAC Semifinal match all-time, accumulating a 2-3-3 record in that span. All three of SRU's regulation draws resulted in Slippery Rock victories in penalty shootouts to follow.
 
SRU Men's Soccer PSAC Semifinal Success:
2015: Def. Mercyhurst, 1-0
2013: 0-0 vs. Millersville, Advanced on PKs, 4-3
2012: Def. West Chester, 1-0
2009: 1-1 vs. Mercyhurst, Advanced on PKs, 6-5
2005: 2-2 vs. Lock Haven, Advanced on PKs, 3-2
 
If Slippery Rock defeats Bloomsburg and advances to the PSAC Championship, it will be playing in its 11^th title game all-time. SRU is 5-5 in the PSAC Championship, winning four of its last five from 2005-15.
 
Slippery Rock won three regular season crowns from 1952-54 before the inception of the PSAC Championship game, thus having won eight total PSAC titles in school history.
 
SRU Men's Soccer Championship Success:
2015: Def. Millersville, 2-1
2013: Def. Mercyhurst, 3-2 (2 OT)
2009: Def. Millersville, 2-1
2005: Def. California (Pa.), 2-1
1974: Def. East Stroudsburg, 2-1 (OT)
1954: Top of the Table
1953: Top of the Table
1952: Top of the Table
 
ALL-CONFERENCE RECOGNITION
Slippery Rock garnered five All-PSAC West honors, the conference office announced Nov. 13, marking the largest all-conference class for SRU since 2021.
 
Pla Hernandis headlined the group with his second first-team honor. Fugl, Jorde, Rullan and Spence all represented SRU as second team All-PSAC West honorees.
 
Pla Hernandis was pivotal in SRU's late-season playoff push, scoring six of his team-leading seven goals in the final eight games of the regular season. He scored a pair of game-winners on the road against Seton Hill and Lock Haven, games that SRU needed to win in order to earn the second seed in the PSAC West.
 
Fugl became a staple of SRU's offense in his first year with The Rock, tallying nine points on four goals and an assist. The striker from Copenhagen, Denmark scored late game-winners in both of SRU's games against Pitt-Johnstown. Fugl also ranked third on the team with both 29 shots and 11 shots on goal.
 
Jorde is receiving All-PSAC West recognition for the second year in a row. The midfielder is tied with Pla Hernandis for tops on the team with 14 points, with Jorde's stemming from five goals and four assists including a game-winning goal at D'Youville University. The Bilbao, Spain native ranks fifth in the PSAC with 2.5 shots per game, leading SRU with 40 shots.
 
Rullan joined Jorde in the second team midfield accolades after leading The Rock to five assists on the year. The set-piece specialist from Madrid, Spain tallied a hat trick of assists in SRU's dramatic 4-3 win at Seton Hill with two coming on corner kicks. Rullan also recorded an assist against Gannon and UPJ.
 
Spence is SRU's lone defensive representation on the All-PSAC West team, playing in his first season at The Rock after a Division I career at Robert Morris University. The Cheswick, Pennsylvania centerback was named the PSAC West Defensive Athlete of the Week twice, thanks in part to totaling two goals and an assist.
 
ANOTHER GREAT TIME TO SCORE
Pandher scored his first goal of the season in the 55^th minute of the PSAC Quarterfinals versus Seton Hill to lift The Rock to a 1-0 victory. With five minutes left of last week's regular season finale with SHU – a game in which Slippery Rock needed a win or tie for a playoff berth – Hanes scored his first career goal to prolong The Rock's season.
 
A native of Brampton, Ontario, Pandher became the 12^th different goalscorer for Slippery Rock this season. Already having earned assists against California and Seton Hill, Pandher also became the ninth unique SRU player to have recorded at least one goal and one assist on the year.
 
UNBEATEN THROUGH FIVE
Slippery Rock enters its semifinal fixture on a five-game undefeated run, going 4-0-1 since Oct. 26. A 3-1 loss to No. 12 Gannon is SRU's only defeat in the last nine matches.
 
The Rock have not gone on an unbeaten run through eight of nine consecutive games or won seven times in a nine-game span since a seven-game winning streak in 2013 en route to the program's seventh PSAC Championship. The Rock began their 2013 campaign with a 10-1-1 record, ranking as high as eighth nationally in that stretch.
 
REVVED UP FOR ROAD GAMES
Slippery Rock has fared well on the road this year with a 5-2-1 record in away games. The Rock went 3-1-1 in conference road games, defeating Pitt-Johnstown, Seton Hill and Lock Haven in one-goal wins.
 
THE ROCK vs. RANKED OPPONENTS
With Bloomsburg being ranked 13^th in the nation by the United Soccer Coaches' final regular season poll, SRU will be facing a nationally ranked opponent for the third time this year. Slippery Rock tied No. 15 Gannon at home, 1-1, before falling to a 12^th-ranked Golden Knights team on the road, 3-1.
 
In order to advance to the PSAC Championship game, Slippery Rock will need to record its first win against a nationally ranked opponent for the first time since defeating No. 21 Millersville in the 2015 title match.  
 
WHEN THE ROCK HEADS EAST
Slippery Rock is 5-4-4 against PSAC East schools in the last four years, going 2-0 in 2024 against PSAC East members with a 5-1 win at Shippensburg University and a 2-1 Homecoming victory versus Shepherd University.
 
The Rock are 15-19-12 (.457) against all non-conference opponents in the last six years.
 
DAVIES GETTING IT DONE
Davies' first playoff game in a Slippery Rock uniform turned into his fifth career shutout and the third clean sheet of the season, with four saves on 15 Seton Hill shots.
 
The senior goaltender from Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania brings a 1.41 GAA and a .688 save percentage into the PSAC Semifinals. Through a 9-4-4 season in goal, Davies has made 53 saves on 169 total shots faced.
 
STAUNCH DEFENSE
SRU's defensive third included the likes of Harrigan, Lonjard, Spence and Spencer versus Seton Hill. While The Rock were outshot 15-6, Slippery Rock's defense limited the number of quality looks for the Griffins, limiting Seton Hill to just four total shots on goal and three corner kicks.
 
IF WE NEED MORE THAN 90
New to NCAA soccer in 2024, "Golden Goal" overtime rules will return for postseason play. If Slippery Rock and Bloomsburg need overtime to decide Friday's outcome, whichever team that scores first in extra time will automatically win the game.
 
Overtime will still consist of two 10-minute periods with a five-round penalty kick shootout to follow if necessary.
 
RECORD WATCH
Now in his senior year, Pla Hernandis continues to rise through the ranks in several different school records. The true nine ranks inside the top five all-time with 163 total shots and third with 78 shots on goal. Jorde ranks 11^th all-time, now with 38 shots on goal. Jorde also moved into a tie for 18^th all-time after last week's efforts, having taken 90 total shots.
 
Another goal against California for Pla Hernandis moved him to 28 on his career, tied for 12^th all-time in SRU history with Tony Hindley (1979-82).
 
In net, Davies is now tied for 10^th with 15 career wins, ranks second with eight career ties and has moved into a tie for sixth with 36 starts in net.
 
THE HUSKIES BY THE NUMBERS
Overall Record: 14-3-1
PSAC East Record: 7-2-1
Home Record: 8-1-1
Away Record: 6-2
PSAC West Rank: 1^st of 6
Streak: L1
Last Five: 3-0-2
Head Coach: Mark Bassett | Fourth season at Bloomsburg (48-21-7, .678)
Roster: Link
Stats: Link
 
BLOOMSBURG SCOUTING REPORT
The Huskies have never won the PSAC Championship but are hoping to make the conference finals for the second time in three years. Bloomsburg led the PSAC East with a 9-3-1 conference record in 2022, falling to Mercyhurst in a 1-0 final that the Huskies hosted on home turf. BU is 0-5 in the PSAC Championship game, being outscored 15-0 in total.
 
Bloomsburg overcame a 1-0 season-opening loss to Felician University to go unbeaten through 15 of its next 16 games. The Huskies are, however, coming off a regular season finale loss to Millersville, 3-0. Overall, Bloomsburg went 14-3-1 in 2024, a mark that included a 7-2-1 showing in PSAC East competition.
 
The Huskies get it done on both ends of the field, ranking third in the PSAC with 1.9 goals per game but ranking third in Division II by recording shutouts in 61.1 percent of their games. Goalkeeper Brady Rimple has logged nine clean sheets on the season, ranking fourth nationally with a 0.57 GAA.
 
Patrick Walsh is Bloomsburg's leader on offense, scoring a team-high seven goals and landing 17 of his 30 shots on target. The senior from Macungie, Pennsylvania has taken at least one shot in all but three games this year and has scored four goals in the team's last four matches.
 
LOOKING AHEAD
If Slippery Rock wins its semifinal contest, it will play in the PSAC Championship for the 11^th time in school history 1 p.m. at Bloomsburg. The Rock will face the winner of the Gannon-West Chester semifinal. SRU has never seen Gannon or West Chester in the PSAC Championship in its 10 previous title game appearances.





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