After winning their respective semifinal contests on Friday night, Salem State and Westfield State are moving on to the MASCAC Men's Soccer Tournament title game on Sunday at 12 pm.

#1 Salem State 3, #4 Framingham State 0                 Box Score

Salem State scored two second half goals to pull away from No. 4 seeded Framingham State to advance to the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference  (MASCAC) Championship on Sunday. The Vikings defeated the Rams 3-0 in the semifinals and will now seek their first trip to the NCAA Tournament since 2010 when they host No. 6 seeded Westfield State, which upset No. 2 seeded Mass Maritime 3-2 in the other semifinal.

Mayele Malango (Lowell, Mass.) put Salem State (12-5) on the scoreboard early as he went left and hooked a shot from 30 yards out that beat Josh Arno (Natick, Mass.) in the 10th minute. Malango now has 43 points on the season, second most by a freshman in a single season in Salem state history.

Malango's tally was the only score of the first half as the Vikings outshot the Rams 6-2 in the half.

Issac De Souza (Sao Paulo, Brazil) nearly tied the game in the 60th minute as his shot from just inside the box nearly skidded past keeper Chris Jimenez (Nashua, N.H.), but Jimenez recovered to make a diving stop.  The Vikings gained breathing room three minutes later when Arno's attempt to clear went directly to Nahuel Aligbay (Leominster, Mass.), who without any defenders, easily beat the goalie giving Salem State a 2-0 advantage.   

In a game that featured eight yellow cards, one red card and 39 combined fouls, the Vikings' defense answered every Framingham State advance, allowing just one shot on goal by the Rams over the final 23 minutes.

Alex Carvajal (Salem, Mass.) iced the game as he knocked in a rebound off a free kick in the 80th minute that put Salem State up 3-0.

Arno, took the loss allowing two goals while making two saves before being replaced by Dennis Slaw (Accra, Ghana), who gave up one score on three shots faced. Jimenez made eight saves in the win. The Rams end their season with a 9-10-1 record.

#6 Westfield State 3, #2 Massachusetts Maritime 2   Box Score

BUZZARDS BAY, Mass. --  Freshman Paul Soucy's (Acushnet, Mass.) goal with 7:28 remaining proved to be the game-winner that lifted sixth-seeded Westfield State to a 3-2 victory over second-seeded Massachusetts Maritime in semifinal round play of the 2017 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference Men's Soccer Championships Friday evening at Clean Harbors Stadium.

The visiting Owls, who improve to 9-9 overall on the season, advance to Sunday's championship round match at top-seeded Salem State beginning at Noon, as the Vikings posted a 3-0 triumph over fourth-seeded Framingham State in Friday's other semifinal contest at Alumni Field in Salem, Mass.  The host Buccaneers, who were making their fourth appearance in the MASCAC semifinals in the last five years, end their season at 6-11-1 overall.

Westfield State jumped out to a 2-0 advantage in the opening 13:53 of action on a pair of goals from senior Kyle Mutti (Feeding Hills, Mass.), but Massachusetts Maritime evened matters with a pair of tallies that came just 53 seconds apart in the closing minutes of the first half.  Sophomore Tyler Haynes (Bridgewater, Mass.) sliced the Buccaneer deficit in half in the 41^st minute on a feed from fellow sophomore Adam Crawford (Kingston, Mass.), who knotted the score by converting his second penalty kick of the year (and fifth marker of the season) with 3:20 to play before the break.  That score held up until the waning minutes of action, as after each team traded point blank opportunities in a five minute stretch, Soucy converted a pass from Mutti and streaked in from the left side for the deciding tally that propelled the Owls to the title match.

Junior Legend Mu'Min (Springfield, Mass.) chipped in with an assist on Mutti's second goal for Westfield State, which received a six-save effort in net from senior Alex Kraver (West Springfield, Mass.).  Senior Mike Pruchnik (Rochester, Mass.) made three stops in goal in the setback for Massachusetts Maritime, as the Buccaneers outshot the Owls by a 15-12 margin overall (8-6 on goal).  The visitors held a 5-4 edge in corner kicks for the contest, as Westfield State avenged a 1-0 setback to Massachusetts Maritime that came back on October 6^th at Clean Harbors Stadium.

Westfield State is seeking its second MASCAC crown in the last four years in Sunday's title match, as the Owls defeated Salem State in that season's championship contest.  Sunday's winner receives the conference's automatic berth into the 2017 NCAA Division III Championships.

Releases courtesy of Massachusetts Maritime and Salem State Sports Information