Bridgewater State Claims Top Seed in 2023 MASCAC Men's Soccer Tournament
For the first time since the 2014 season, the Bridgewater State Bears are the regular season champions and headline the 2023 MASCAC Men's Soccer Tournament as the top seed.
For the first time since the 2014 season, the Bridgewater State Bears are the regular season champions and headline the 2023 MASCAC Men's Soccer Tournament as the top seed.
The 2023 tournament begins on Tuesday, October 31 with the quarterfinal round of games. Up first #3 Salem State hosts #6 Fitchburg State at 11:30 am while #4 Framingham State hosts #5 Worcester State at 7 pm. In the semifinal round on Friday, Nov. 3, #1 Bridgewater State will play the lowest remaining seed for the quarterfinal round at 3:30 pm while #2 Westfield State will face the highest remaining seed at 7 pm Friday.
The two semifinal winners will then meet on Sunday, Nov. 5 at the highest remaining seed for the MASCAC Men's Soccer Tournament crown and the automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.
The Bears not only earned the top seed, but a first round bye in the tournament after finishing 6-0-1 during the MASCAC slate of games this season. The Bears are led offensively by forward David Nelson who leads the team with eight goals while also amassing four assists for 20 points, all of which are in the top four of the conference. He also registered three game-winning goals on the year.
Earning the other bye in the semifinals is Westfield State with the second seed. The Owls were 5-2 to close out the conference schedule. Coleby Andrade found the back of the net five times this season while assisting on two goals for 12 points. He also led the Owls to two wins with his game-winning tallies.
Grabbing the third seed is Salem State who also was 5-2 at the end of regular season play in the league. Between the pipes, Matt Hauntsman finished the regular season first in the MASCAC with an .895 save percentage and shutouts with seven. He also was second in wins with seven and goals against with 10 while registering 85 saves.
Framingham State is our final tournament game host with the fourth seed. The Rams were 4-3 in the MASCAC campaign. Kunphel Sinha is currently in the top five of the league in several categories, including total goals (six), assists (four), points (16) and game-winning goals (two).
Rounding out this year's tournament field with the fifth and sixth seed are Worcester State and Fitchburg State. The Lancers tallied three conference wins this season. In goal, Andy Ramirez registered a .798 save percentage, 1.18 GAA, 67 saves, five wins and three shutouts. For the Falcons, Elijah Kalombo leads the team with four goals for eight points on 17 shots with one game-winner.
In the battle of the third seed versus the fourth seed, Worcester State came out on top in penalty kicks over Bridgewater State in the 2022 Men's Soccer Tournament title game.