Salem State and Worcester State are moving on to the MASCAC Men's Soccer Tournament semifinals after coming out victorious in their quarterfinal matches Tuesday night.

3 Salem State 5, #6 Fitchburg State 1               Box Score

SALEM, Mass. - Gabriel Meireles' (Everett, Mass.) goal and two-assist performance helped the #3 Salem State Vikings (12-3-3) eliminate the #6 Fitchburg State Falcons 5-1 to advance to the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) semifinals against #2 Bridgewater State on Friday.  

The Vikings took a 1-0 lead in the 29th minute. Salem State took a corner and Gabriel Meireles (Everett, Mass.) delivered a cross to Felipe Montiel (Maracaibo, Venezuela) for a low goal from four yards out.

Inside the box, Hamza Ewiess (Amherst, N.H.) gave a touch pass to Edwin Demoya (Salem, Mass.) for a goal that went under the goalkeeper Branton Abbett's (Jasper, Ind.) legs for a 2-0 Salem State lead in the 34th minute.    

In the 39th minute, Demoya assisted Meireles, who took a high curving shot over Abbett's reach. The shot was from 15 yards gave the Vikings a comfortable 3-0 lead.

Marckdonard Bastien (Worcester, Mass.) scored the first goal for Fitchburg State with a quick, hard shot in the 40th minute narrowing the gap to two goals. Salem State led 3-1 at halftime.  

In the second half, Grace Dos Santos (Brockton, Mass.) scored two goals within a minute. His first score came off an assist from Igor Caldas (Vitoria, Brazil) when Abbett was caught out of position with an easy goal in the 70th minute. In the 71st minute, Dos Santos' second goal occured on a counter-attack when Meireles assisted Dos Santos with a lead pass for his second goal giving the Vikings a 5-1 lead.

Goalkeepers Abbett and Colby Mason (Athol, Mass.) combined for four saves for the Falcons. Christopher Jimenez saved three shots in the match.

The Vikings will square off against the #2 Bridgewater State for the MASCAC semifinal in Bridgewater at 3:30 p.m. on November 2nd. Fitchburg State finishes their season at 5-11-1.

4 Worcester State 1, #5 Westfield State 1 PK Away (5-4)           Box Score

WORCESTER, Mass. - The Worcester State men's soccer team outlasted Westfield State 5-4 in penalty kicks to win Tuesday night's Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference Quarterfinal at Coughlin Field.

The defenses held strong over the game's first 90 minutes and two overtime periods. Both teams had a few opportunities to score, but neither could find the back of the net. The score remained 0-0 through regulation and stayed that way through two overtime periods. The Owls outshot the Lancers 16-9.

The crowd was on their feet ready for the shootout. While both teams struggled to find the back of the net during play, they had no trouble finding it during penalty kicks.

For the Lancers, Jack Kellard (St. Albans, England), Bryan Brasil (Williamsburg, Mass.), Justin Echeverry(Methuen, Mass.), Cyrus Raines (Belchertown, Mass.), Ethan Melia (Shrewsbury, Mass.) all made their five shots during the shootout, each with their own flair. The Owls lined up Ryan Morais (Uxbridge, Mass.), Legend Mu'min (Springfield, Mass.), Sinha Kunphel (South Yarmouth, Mass.), Paul Soucy (Acushnet, Mass.) and Ian Jalbert (Avon, Conn.) to take the shots. Jalbert sailed one over the crossbar and with Melia's made shot the Lancers advanced to the MASCAC Semifinals.

Worcester State's Henri Guilmette (Franklin, Mass.) held strong for the Lancers making six saves over the course of the night, five coming in the first half. Griffin Brown (Southborough, Mass.) recorded four saves for the Owls  over the course of the night keeping the score even through 110 minutes.

With the win, the Lancers advance to the MASCAC Semifinals, set for Friday evening at Framingham State University to kick off at 6pm. Even though the Lancers took the win and advance to the semifinals statistically the game will be recorded as a tie in the record books. Worcester State's record moves to 7-8-3 and Westfield State closes their season 5-5-5.

Releases courtesy of Salem State and Worcester State Sports Information