Salem State and Framingham State Advance to MASCAC Men's Soccer Championship

Top seed Salem State and second seed Framingham State are headed to the MASCAC Men's Soccer Championship game on Sunday after winning their semifinal matchups Friday night.

Salem State and Framingham State Advance to MASCAC Men's Soccer Championship
November 5, 2021

Top seed Salem State and second seed Framingham State are headed to the MASCAC Men's Soccer Championship game on Sunday after winning their semifinal matchups Friday night.

#2 Framingham State 2, #3 Bridgewater State 1  2 OT       Box Score

Framingham, Mass – Framingham State's Gabriel Padilla sent in a long strike off a pass from Kunphel Sinha in the 110th minute to send the #2 seed Rams past the #3 seeded Bridgewater State by a score of 2-1 in the MASCAC semifinal Friday evening at Maple Street Field. With the victory, the Rams advance to the MASCAC Championship game at Salem State on Sunday at noon.  

THE BASICS: 

- Score: Framingham State 2, Bridgewater State 1 (2OT)  

- Records: Framingham State (8-11-1), Bridgewater State (8-10) 

- Location:  Maple Street Field – Framingham, Mass.  

HOW IT HAPPENED:  

  • Framingham State had a great look to get on the board around the 20th minute when Bryce Bortello-McCray's header hit the crossbar. 

  • On the ensuing possession the Bears sprung free on a 2-on-1 in transition and Carsten Boloz's shot went just high to keep the game locked at zero.  

  • After a Rams foul just outside the box in the 36th minute the Bears sent a screamer towards net that was saved by James Hartshorn. On the ensuing corner Brett Ghelfi sent in a corner which was headed by Liam Lenihan back and finished off by Will Haben for the 1-0 lead.  

  • The Rams had a good look in the 62nd minute but Breyner Depina's shot was saved by William Russell to preserve the lead.  

  • In the 72nd minute the Rams tied it up when Sherak Ayamga's shot went off the crossbar and the rebound was headed in by Borletto-McCray.  

  • The Bears had a great opportunity with just about 90 seconds to play in regulation that was saved by a diving Hartshorn.  

  • Early in the second overtime Justin Silva had a good chance to score off a corner but his shot went high.  

  • The Rams scored the game winner in the final minute of the second overtime sending them to the Championship game for the third straight season.  

 

#1 Salem State 5, #5 MCLA 0      Box Score

Salem, Mass. – Lucas Amaral (Peabody, Mass.) netted two goals to lead top seed Salem State to the 2021 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) championship game with a 5-0 victory over fifth seed MCLA on Friday evening at Alumni Field. The Vikings will look for their first post-season championship since 2017, when they face second seed Framingham State on Sunday, November 7 in a rematch of the 2019 MASCAC title game, which the Rams won 1-0.

Salem State (12-6) dominated play over the first forty-five minutes of the game. The Trailblazers (5-11-1) were limited offensively by the relentless defense of the Vikings, led by Patrick Filetti (Newburyport, Mass.). Amaral nearly gave Salem State a 1-0 lead early into the first, but goalie Sam Edge (Williamstown, Mass.) made a diving save to keep the game scoreless. Kendy Prince (Medford, Mass.) broke the stalemate with his league-leading 18th goal of the year, which was setup by Aaron O'Toole (Quincy, Mass.) in the 17th minute.

O'Toole extended the lead to 2-0 in the 31st minute when he headed in a line drive pass from Damon Deocleciano (Lowell, Mass.) from eight yards out.  

Salem State pressured the Trailblazers from the opening whistle, rarely allowing the ball to cross midfield. On MCLA's lone chance of the half, Gabe Dias (Shrewsbury, Mass.) broke free along the left sideline, but his shot sailed high, negating MCLA's only legitimate scoring chance.

Salem State took advantage of a failed clear by MCLA, setting up Amaral for the game's third goal with a shot into the righthand corner of the net in the 43rd minute.

Salem State held an 11-1 advantage in shots and a 6-0 margin in corners.

Matt Hauntsman (Milford, N.H.), who was rarely tested, twice came out of the box to snuff out any scoring chances by the Trailblazers in the second half.  The Vikings, who racked up 23 shots to just four by MCLA, added two second half goals eight minutes apart to ice the victory.

Amaral connected on a penalty kick in the 78th minute and Endi Doku (Peabody, Mass.) put home a pass from Fabricio Torres (Lima, Peru) from 10 yards out in the 86th minute to cap the scoring.

Hauntsman ended with a pair of saves for the Vikings while Edge made 10 saves in goal for the Trailblazers. Salem State now has eight consecutive conference shutouts.   

Releases courtesy of Framingham State and Salem State Sports Information