BLOOMSBURG, Pa. – The Lock Haven University men's soccer team dropped a 2-1 double-overtime heartbreaker tonight at Bloomsburg University in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Tournament First Round action.
 
With the win, Bloomsburg (14-4) advances to face No. 2 seed Millersville on Friday (Nov. 6) in the semifinals. Friday's semifinals and Sunday's championship will be played at top-seed and host Mercyhurst.
 
LHU entered today's match as the No. 6 seed for the PSAC Tournament after going 6-5 in conference play during the regular season. Bloomsburg is playing as the No. 3 seed, thanks to an 8-3 regular season conference record.
 
With just over 60 miles separating Lock Haven and Bloomsburg, the two schools locked up a thriller tonight much to the delight of a packed and boisterous crowd.
 
Trailing 1-0 late, the Bald Eagles tied the match in dramatic fashion with less than seven minutes to play.
 
Troy Amspacher (Lancaster, Pa./Conestoga Valley) smashed home a perfect crossing pass from Jacob Oldaker (Elliottsburg, Pa./West Perry) to draw even with the host-Huskies.
 
Amspacher and Oldaker were nothing short of fantastic tonight for The Haven, as the two ran up and down the field, and combined for eight of LHU's 12 shots in the match.
 
Lock Haven goalkeeper Troy Teresak (Pompton Plains, N.J./DePaul Catholic) kept the Bald Eagles in the game throughout and finished with eight saves.
 
Bloomsburg's leading scorer Austin Transue scored both goals for the Huskies, including the game-winner four minutes into double-overtime.
 
The Bald Eagles had the first major scoring chance of the match in the eighth minute when Amspacher slid a thru ball by the Huskie defense and an outstretched-Oldaker chipped it over the crossbar.
 
Teresak kept things knotted at 0-0 in the 14^th minute when he made a huge save on Bloomsburg's Transue.
 
Bloomsburg took the 1-0 lead in the 18^th minute when Transue fired home a shot after running onto a long Nick Izzo pass.
 
Amspacher was it again and it looked to put LHU on the board in the 35^th minute, but his shot from 24 yards out sailed wide.
 
Teresak again kept the Bald Eagles in the match with two sensational saves late in the first half. He finished with five saves in the first half.
 
Early in the second half Bloomsburg created two strong scoring chances. The first was turned away by Teresak and the second was cleared off the goal line by Haven defender Gage Rims (Rosedale, Md./Loch Raven).
 
Bloomsburg's Transue nearly scored in the 68^th minute, but his shot from just inside the box zipped wide.
 
With less than 20 minutes to go, Amspacher had LHU's first major scoring chance of the second half, but sent a hard shot just wide of the far post after a strong buildup that led to the opportunity to the tie the match.
 
Following Amspacher's chance, LHU titled the field and put the pressure on the Huskies.
 
With 11 minutes to play in the match, things opened up and both teams created good scoring chances with end-to-end action.
 
Lock Haven was finally rewarded for its effort in the 84^th minute as Amspacher scored his ninth and biggest goal of the season. Amspacher darted onto an Oldaker crossing-pass and smashed it near post for the equalizer.
 
After 90 minutes the two local-rivals were tied 1-1, forcing extra time.
 
Both teams had good scoring chances in the first 10-minute OT period. Teresak made a huge save from point-blank range two minutes in and Oldaker had a prime scoring chance blocked moments later at the other end.
 
With six minutes left in the second OT period, Transue ran onto a long pass and sent the ball into the far post for the game-winner.
 
Today's match marked the Bald Eagles first playoff contest since LHU and Bloomsburg met in the PSAC semifinals in 2011.
 
Lock Haven finishes the season with a 7-11-1 overall record.