Bridgewater State 4, MCLA 1 Box Score

Courtesy of Bridgewater State Sports Information

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – The Bridgewater State University men's soccer team potted three first half goals en route to a 4-1 victory over visiting MCLA in the semifinal round of the 2014 MASCAC Tournament.

With the win, the top-seeded and defending champion Bears (10-7-1) advance to the MASCAC Tournament Final for the sixth time in program history.  Bridgewater will host #3 Fitchburg State University on Sunday at noon with an NCAA Tournament bid on the line.  The Falcons edged #2 Mass. Maritime Academy, 1-0, in the other semifinal matchup. The fifth-seeded Trailblazers wrap up the 2014 campaign with an overall mark of 7-8-3.

Andrew Chenard (Kingston, Mass.), Jonathan Pires (Medford, Mass.) and Justin Kachadoorian (Leicester, Mass.) each netted first half goal for the Bears with Chenard opening the scoring in the ninth minute as he collected a long volleyball from Chris Naughton(Braintree, Mass.) and blasted a shot inside the left post from twenty yards out.  Pires headed in a cross from Sawyer Fleck (Foxboro, Mass.) in the 13th minute, while Kachadoorian gave the hosts a 3-0 lead in the 34th minute with a one-timer inside the right post off a cross from David Wilson (Charlton, Mass.).

Conor Murtagh (Walpole, Mass.) deflected home a long cross from Wilson in the 61st minute to increase the BSU advantage to 4-0.  For Murtagh, the goal marked his MASCAC leading tenth of the season.

An own goal in the 69th minute spoiled the  Bears' shutout bid.  Off a short corner, Dylan Pereira (Ludlowe, Mass.) sent a cross into the goal mouth that was knocked in by a BSU defender on an attempted clear.

Bridgewater held a 23-11 shot advantage for the game as well as a 6-1 edge in corner kicks.

Colin Jepson (Sandwich, Mass.) made four saves to earn his tenth win of the season between the pipes for the Bears, while Matt Robinson (Petersham, Mass.) turned aside six shots for MCLA.

Fitchburg State 1, Massachusetts Maritime 0  Box Score

Courtesy of Massachusetts Maritime Sports Information

BUZZARDS BAY, Mass. – Senior Brett Smith's goal 7:57 into the second half proved to be the game-winner and lifted third-seeded Fitchburg State to a 1-0 victory over second-seeded Massachusetts Maritime in semifinal round play of the 2014 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference Men's Soccer Championships Friday evening at Clean Harbors Stadium.

The visiting Falcons advance to Sunday's conference championship match at top-seeded Bridgewater State, which defeated fifth-seeded MCLA by a 4-1 final in Friday night's other league semifinal contest.  Sunday's title tilt at Swenson Field in Bridgewater, Mass. begins at Noon, and the winner will receive the MASCAC's automatic berth into the NCAA Division III Championships, which begin next week.

Smith took a throw-in from freshman Matan Shmerling and converted a header for his second marker of the season on the golden goal for Fitchburg State, which evened its overall record at 10-10-0 with the triumph.  Senior Aidan Hanratty took care of the rest in goal for the Falcons, Hanratty made six saves to pick up his tenth win and ninth shutout of the season in conditions that saw constant winds out of the northwest gusting up to 30 miles per hour.

Sophomore Joe Cohen made five saves in suffering the season-ending setback for the host Buccaneers, who finish the year at 7-8-2 while advancing to the conference semifinals for a second straight year and for the third time in program history.  Massachusetts Maritime outshot Fitchburg State by a 15-10 margin overall, as each team had eight shots with the winds at their back.  The Buccaneers also held a 7-4 edge in corner kicks for the evening, as Hanratty turned aside a pair of shots off corners in the opening 45 minutes of play.

Fitchburg State seeks its first-ever MASCAC tournament title in Sunday's championship round and also looks to avenge a 2-1 regular season setback to Bridgewater State back on October 11^th.  The Bears will be looking for their second straight and fourth overall conference tournament crown.