Fitchburg State and MCLA Advance to MASCAC Men's Soccer Semifinals Friday
Fitchburg State and MCLA have advanced to the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference semifinal round after winning their respective quarterfinal matchups on Tuesday.
MCLA 2, Framingham 0 Box Score
Courtesy of Framingham Sports Information
Framingham, Mass. – The fifth seed MCLA men’s soccer team tallied a pair of second half goals to defeat the fourth seed Framingham State University Rams 2-0 in one quarterfinal match of the 2014 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) Men’s Soccer Championship Tournament.
With the victory, the Trailblazers improve to 7-7-3 on the year and advance to the semifinal round of the Men’s Soccer Championships. MCLA will travel to top seed Bridgewater State University on Friday evening at 7 p.m. The Rams see their season come to a close at 5-12-1.
Both teams had their chances to score early as both offenses were firing on all cylinders at the start. MCLA sophomore Anthony Basile (East Longmeadow, Mass.) fired a blast from the top of the box, but hit the post just under five minutes into the contest. Two minutes later, Basile had a breakaway and drew the Ram keeper off his line, but his bid sailed just wide of the post. The Rams had a scoring chance in between Basile’s two opportunities. Freshman Suhairu Kato (Ludlow, Mass.) collected a loose ball in the box and fired a shot that was saved by the Trailblazers.
The Rams best chance to score down the stretch of the first half came with just over 10 minutes remaining when freshman Jamie Plowman (Westborough, Mass.) received a pass in the box and laid down a well-placed shot that hit the far post and bounced toward the goal line. MCLA goalkeeper Matt Robinson (Petersham, Mass.) was able to pounce on the loose ball before it could roll over the goal line sending the game to half scoreless.
MCLA grabbed the lead in the opening minutes of the second when sophomore Edward Boateng (Worcester, Mass.) curved a corner kick inside the far post at 54:02. The Trailblazers nearly doubled the lead a minute later but it was negated on an offside call.
The Rams had a chance to tie the game in the 71st minute. Junior Cory Cardiero (Fall River, Mass.) sent a long cross to freshman CJ Alimonti (Peabody, Mass.) in the box. Alimonti got a shot off, but Robinson came up with the big save.
MCLA added an insurance goal in the 75th minute to extend the lead to 2-0. #Sophomore Romeo Grey (Mashpee, Mass.) carried the ball down the right side and sent a cross through the box to Basile who redirected it into the back of the net.
The Rams outshot the Trailblazers 28-12 in the game and held a 9-4 advantage in corner kicks. Robinson picked up the victory in net for the Trailblazers making nine saves, while sophomore Jacob Nichols (Sturbridge, Mass.) made three saves for the Rams.
With the victory, the #3 Falcons will advance to take on the second-seeded Massachusetts Maritime Academy on Friday evening at 7:00 pm in Buzzards Bay.
Sophomore Jared Burns had a one on one opportunity in the 12th minute but was stopped on a point blank shot by Owls net minder Keith Hevey. Less than a minute later however Burns would find the back of the net just inside the box on a turnover by Westfield State to give the hosts an early 1-0 advantage.
Westfield State had their best opportunity of the early stages in the 26th minute when junior Jack Fisher ripped a shot from outside the box off a corner kick by senior Nick Tavares, but was turned away by Falcons keeper Aidan Hanratty.
During the first period the Owls held a 7-4 edge in shots and a staggering 5-1 advantage in corner kicks, with nearly all of them coming in the closing minutes, but were unable to capitalize on the opportunities.
Fitchburg State doubled their lead at the 22:49 mark in the second off the boot of freshman Zachary Young when he picked up a drubbed shot by senior Brett Smith on the far post to give the hosts a 2-0 lead.
Josh Hofer nearly added another for the Green & Gold at the 73rd minute when be broke free from the defense, but was stopped by Hevey on the shot inside the six.
Despite the loss, Westfield State held a 15-14 edge in shots, and 8-4 advantage in corner kicks.
Westfield State concludes their season with a 3-12-3 record, going 2-4-1 in conference play.
The victory ends a 26 year playoff victory drought at home for the Falcons, with their last win coming in 1988 in the MASCAC Championship game.
Fitchburg State will look to avenge their regular season loss at Mass. Maritime on Friday, as they were defeated by the Buccaneers 3-1 on September 26.