Bridgewater State, Fitchburg State Advance to MASCAC Men's Soccer Semifinals

The Bridgewater State Bears and Fitchburg State Falcons advance to the semifinal round of the MASCAC Men's Soccer Tournament after winning their respective quarterfinal games on Tuesday.

November 1, 2016

The Bridgewater State Bears and Fitchburg State Falcons advance to the semifinal round of the MASCAC Men's Soccer Tournament after winning their respective quarterfinal games on Tuesday.

#6 Fitchburg State 1, #3 Framingham State 0 Box Score

The sixth seeded Falcons of Fitchburg State defeated third seeded Framingham State University, 1-0 in quarterfinal round action of the 2016 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference Men's Soccer post-season tournament this afternoon at Maple Street Field.

With the win, Fitchburg State improves to 6-11-1 on the year and advances to the MASCAC Tournament Semifinals on Friday night where they will face second seed Massachusetts Maritime Academy at 7 p.m. in Buzzards Bay. With the loss, the Rams see their season come to a close at 8-11.

The Falcons secured the early lead with a goal in the seventh minute that would ultimately prove to be the game winner. Freshman Matthew Krikorian sent a cross into the box that ended up behind the Rams keeper and junior Ibrahima Male placed a shot into the empty net for the 1-0 advantage.

The Rams had a chance at the equalizer three minutes later.as sophomore Simon Appiah sent a low shot towards goal, but a Falcon defender was able to clear the ball away before it crossed the goal line to preserve the 1-0 advantage going into the break.

The Rams offense came alive to start the second half as they had multiple chances in the opening minutes of the frame. Sophomore Ken Stahovish was alone behind the Falcon defense in the 48th minute only to send his shot wide, while three minutes later Stahovish rang a shot off the cross bar.

Framingham State had several final chances down the stretch including a shot from freshman Mitchell Thackaberry that sailed just high with just over 15 minutes remaining on the clock as the Fitchburg State defense shut the Rams down over the final ten minutes of play, resulting in the 1-0 final.

Throughout the match, the Rams outshot the Falcons 19-13, while also holding a 7-3 edge in corner kicks. In net, junior Alex Al-Zaibak stopped six shots for Fitchburg State in the victory, while. junior Josh Arno took the loss for the Rams despite making eight saves.

#5 Bridgewater State 1, #4 MCLA 0 Box Score

North Adams, MA- Fifth seeded Bridgewater State got a goal in the 84th minute from freshman Justin Borges (Milford, MA/Milford) and the Bears held off the fourth seeded MCLA Trailblazers 1-0 this evening in a MASCAC quarterfinal matchup. With the win, the Bears (8-8-2) will advance to the semifinal round and will meet top seeded Worcester State Friday at 4pm in Worcester.

The Trailblazers end their respective season at 8-8-1 overall.

The match was played under high intensity with a date in the semifinals at stake. Both defenses would be tested but wouldn't break until Borges' clutch shot. After a foul on the Trailblazers, BSU took a free kick and sent the ball deep into the MCLA end of the field. Gassendy Pierre (Dorchester, MA/Boston International) would send a pass to the foot of Borges just outside the box. The freshman would wheel around and slam a ball towards the upper right corner that beat MCLA's Kamron Anderson (Springfield, MA/Central) giving the Bears the lead late.

MCLA couldn't muster up any chances in the final minutes and the Bears had the road victory. The path wasn't easy though as the Trailblazer offense pressured the Bears all night long. They outshot BSU 22-12 on the evening and held a 7-2 edge in corner kicks.

MCLA had a five minute stretch early in the second half when they generated numerous chances to break the deadlock after a scoreless first half. Freshman Ryan Wanek (South Salem, NY/John Jay) had a look in close that was in traffic and blocked. Anthony Basile (East Longmeadow, MA/East Longmeadow) headed one just outside the post, and a scramble off a corner had potential, but Morgado punched it away.

The Bears had a promising chance as Felipe Gomes (Fogo, Cape Verde/Jeremiah E. Burke) took a through ball headed towards the top of the box, but Anderson came off the line just in time to beat Gomes to the ball negating the chance. Later in the second half, Kane Moran (Perth, Australia/Jerudong International School) corralled a loose ball in the 76^th minute and had Anderson out of position. His shot was cleared by Trailblazer Jack Peterson (Bennington, VT/Mount Anthony) keeping the Bears off the board.

The first half began with MCLA coming out firing as they attempted the games first three shots but couldn't get one past BSU starting keeper Nate Morgado (Dartmouth, MA/Dartmouth). MCLA had a couple of good looks to break the ice, but each time the Bear defense would hold up.

Bridgewater had a golden chance in the 19^th minute when Jameson Bradley (Westborough, MA/Westborough) ripped a shot at Anderson, but the junior keeper deflected it to keep the zeroes on the scoreboard. Although the half was scoreless, MCLA owned an 11-6 shot edge over the Bears and a 4-1 mark in corners. Morgado collected five first half saves while Anderson had three.

Morgado (4-4-1) would earn the win in goal for the Bears ultimately collecting 8 saves on the evening. Anderson (8-8-1) was tagged with the loss stopping four shots.

Courtesy of Framingham State and MCLA Sports Information