Mackenzie Gebhardt's solid play on the outside helped Bloomsburg University capture a conference title. On Sunday, her scoring acumen propelled the team to a

Mackenzie Gebhardt

victory in the second round of the NCAA Division II women's soccer tournament.

            "It was a pretty sick game," said Gebhardt, a Pennsburg resident.

            Her goal midway through the first half lifted the host Huskies to a 1-0 victory East Stroudsburg University in the second round of the tournament. The sophomore midfielder worked past her defender and converted a perfect pass from Nicole Varano with a quality one-time finish, according to head coach Matthew Haney.

            "Mackenzie played well throughout the match, proving again and again that she is a solid two-way player on the flanks," Haney wrote in an email received Monday morning.

            Gebhart's fifth tally of the season, on 24 total shots, ended a seven-game scoring drought. Three of her scores have been game winners. All four of her previous tallies came during a five-game stretch between Sept. 29 and Oct. 14.

            "Overall, I'm pretty happy with how my season has gone," said Gebhardt, a 2017 graduate of Upper Perkiomen High School. "I've played some good games. I have tried to be more aggressive on offense. When I've scored, it's been pretty important for the team."

            Bloomsburg, the top seed in the Atlantic Region, will host West Virginia Wesleyan on Friday in a third-round tournament match. According to Gebhart, the team – which captured the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference's tournament title on Nov. 4 – has improved gradually during Haney's four-year tenure as head coach.

            "This is such a big thing for the program," she said. "It's pretty crazy that we've gotten this far. We're finally reaching our potential. We're just having fun."

            The Huskies (16-2-3) held off a late charge by East Stroudsburg to secure their third consecutive victory in the series and extend their unbeaten streak to 15 games. According to Gebhardt, they felt the pressure to preserve the win down the stretch. "ESU is relentless," she said.

            According to Haney, Gebhardt is thriving as an outside midfielder, where she has more room to maneuver, and the flexibility to make an offensive run. The player said she tries to her best to play as much defense as possible.

            "Mackenzie is having a great season," the coach said. "She does a good job attacking the flanks."

            Initially, Gebhardt struggled with the transition from center midfield to the outside.  Last season, as a freshman, she often second guessed herself and became frustrated with the lack of immediate payoff, according to Haney.

            As a sophomore, Gebhardt started the season in better shape. She displayed improved foot speed facilitated by combining endurance and interval training during over the summer.  According to the coach, the player embraced her new position with a renewed attitude and vigor.

            "I don't ever want to move back to the middle," said Gebhardt, a health science major. "I think the biggest value I bring is the hard work I put in. I may not be the technically sound player on the team. But I did the hard work preparing for the season."