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SOUTH CENTRE TWP. -- Bloomsburg proved on Thursday night that the playoffs can often represent the start of a new beginning. The Panthers, a team that lost six of their final ten games to end the regular season, looked energized and came out of the gates firing on all cylinders.
Midd-West made a bit of a second-half push, but Bloomsburg did enough in the fourth quarter to pull away for a 4-1 win. No. 4 seed Bloomsburg (13-6) will face No. 1 seed Central Columbia (16-3) in the District 4 Class A semifinals on Tuesday night at Selinsgrove.
"We talked about there's nothing to leave behind, this round is one-and-done," Bloomsburg coach Chuck Baker said. "We've been discussing about coming out flat for a while, and we just keep stressing it has to be a full game, not two good quarters. We came out just on fire and our passing game was fantastic. Exceptional passing, we filled up the lanes and we just went stick to stick to stick."
In the first half, Bloomsburg had several breakaway opportunities. Early on, Andi Gutshall found Lillian Fogelsanger on a great rush, but Fogelsanger rang a shot off the post. The Panthers were buzzing around the Midd-West goal, and were finally rewarded for their work when Kiana Coulter deflected in a shot off the stick of Fogelsanger to open the scoring with 3:04 left in the first quarter. Coulter was one of the offensive catalysts for Bloomsburg, as she finished with a goal and assist.
"She played exceptional," Baker said of Coulter. "Her game has really ramped up, and she's seeing the field so well. We discussed how we don't just want to go forward. We want to use the whole field and go side-to-side to create the openings. That worked very well today."
Just before halftime, the Panthers would strike again for a backbreaking goal with Gutshall and Fogelsanger right in the middle of it once again. The duo got behind the defense for a 2-on-0 breakaway. Fogelsanger took a pass from Gutshall and slammed it into the back of the cage with just 15 seconds left in the first half.
"Bloomsburg came out on fire," Midd-West coach Jodie Scheaffer said. "They got ahead, but we worked hard and we came back. We were one goal away and they just came back harder again. We just fell behind. I'm proud of our seniors. They played tough. It's not the best way to go out, but I'm just proud of the team."
No. 5 seed Midd-West (11-8) did slow Bloomsburg down for much of the third quarter. The Mustangs had the pace more to their liking and started to generate some offense. In the latter part of the period, Midd-West made things interesting for a time after Abby Benner scored off an assist from Bailey McCoy with 4:45 left.
"We knew if we could get a goal it would set them back," Scheaffer said. "They're one – they don't like to be scored on. So if you can score on them, it sets them back a little bit and we were hoping to come back and score a couple more, but it just didn't work out that way."
In the fourth quarter, it was all Bloomsburg. Cassie Bond provided an important insurance goal off a penalty corner courtesy of an assist from Coulter with 10:34 left. The Panthers wrapped things up with an unassisted tally from Fogelsanger that sets up a third meeting with Central in the semifinals. The two teams split a pair of meetings this season, with each of them winning on their home field.
"It's Central-Bloomsburg, it's going to be a war," Baker said. "It's going to be one of those games that these kids and the Central kids will remember for the rest of their lives."
Bloomsburg 5, Midd-West 1
Midd-West 0 0 1 0-1
Bloomsburg 1 1 0 2-4
First Quarter: 1. Kiana Coulter, (Lillian Fogelsanger), 3:04.
Second Quarter: 2. Bloomsburg, Fogelsanger, (Andi Gutshall), :15.
Third Quarter: 3. Midd-West: Abby Benner, (Bailey McCoy), 4:46.
Fourth Quarter: 4. Bloomsburg, Cassie Bond, (Coulter), 10:46; 5. Bloomsburg, Fogelsanger, 6:30.
Shots: Midd-West 3, Bloomsburg 15.
Penalty Corners: Midd-West 6, Bloomsburg 19.
Saves: Midd-West 9 (Paris Seibel), Bloomsburg 2 (Hailey Leisering).