By Jim Fenton
WORCESTER, Mass. -- The Bridgewater State University men's soccer began its defense of the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference title with a road win.
The Bears scored all of their goals in the second half and defeated Worcester State University, 4-0, on Saturday.
Sophomore Nicholas Ribeiro (Bellingham, Mass.) had a goal and an assist, senior Nicolas Matias (Framingham, Mass.) registered two assists and sophomore Hector Bucio (Easton, Mass.), junior Colin Evans (East Longmeadow, Mass.) and junior Filippo Mucci (Vineyard Haven, Mass.) also had goals for BSU.
Senior goalkeeper Lukas Ekmanis (Baxter, Tenn.) recorded his first win of the season and the third of his career. His last victory was a 2-1 decision over Eastern Nazarene College on Sept. 14, 2021. The shutout marked the second of his career and first since 2021 (a 3-0 shutout of RIC on Sept. 8).
BSU won both the MASCAC regular-season and conference tournament championships a year ago. The Bears improved to 2-2-2 overall after defeating the Lancers (0-5, 0-1).
In the overall series dating back to 1980, BSU holds a 29-20-4 advantage over Worcester State.
After a scoreless first half, the Bears broke through at 49:05 when Bucio found the back of the net on a header attempt. The goal came off a short corner with Ribeiro and Carsten Boloz (Southborough, Mass.) collecting the assists. From the right side, Ribeiro sent cross into the box that was headed inside the far post by Bucio.
Bucio leads BSU with three goals this season after getting one in 2023 when he was an all-conference defender.
Five minutes later, Ribeiro scored his first goal of the season with Matias assisting. Off a restart from just outside the 18 on the left side, Ribeiro buried a shot into the top right corner of the cage.
Ribeiro was second on the team as a freshman a year ago with six goals.
The Bears extended the lead to 3-0 at 73:42 when Evans netted his first goal on an assist by senior Dominek Borden (New Bedford, Mass.). Evans, who now has four career goals, left-footed a one-timer from inside the six into the center of the cage off a cross from Borden.
The scoring concluded at 86:57 when Mucci scored on a breakaway, a play that was started by Matias. Mucci has two goals this season.
The Bears had a 16-9 advantage in shots and a 9-2 edge in shots on goal.
Ekamnis made two stops for the victory while Worcester State's PJ Schmidt (Westwood, N.J.) had five saves.
The win marked the 198th coaching victory (all at Bridgewater State) for BSU skipper Brendan Adams.
BSU is home for the next three games, taking on Roger Williams in a non-conference matchup Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Mazzaferro. The Bears' next conference game is Saturday at 5 p.m. against Fitchburg State.
Worcester State plays in Milton against Curry College on Tuesday at 7 p.m.