After defeating their quarterfinal opponents on Tuesday, Bridgewater State and Worcester State advanced to the semifinals of the MASCAC Men's Soccer Tournament. 

#3 Worcester State 3, #6 MCLA 0   Box Score 

Worcester, MA - The #3 Seed Lancers hosted the #5 Seed MCLA Trailblazers in a MASCAC Quarter Final Showdown on a cloudy Tuesday afternoon at Coughlin Field. A hard fought battle in both nets the entire 90 minutes eventually went Worcester's way as the Lancers shut out the Trailblazers and advanced in the MASCAC playoff tournament. 

FINAL SCORE: Worcester 3, MCLA 0

SCORING PLAYS:

14:47 - Worcester | Taylor Gavaletz (1), assisted by Manny Ramirez (6)

62:28 - Worcester | Luke-Mark Anu (5), assisted by Manny Ramirez (7)

76:18 - Worcester | Brady Iovanni (2), unassisted 

First year Midfielder Taylor Gavaletz (Dudley, MA) led the Lancers in the first half with four shots (three on goal), including his first career goal which came just under fifteen minutes after kickoff. Gavaletz's goal was assisted by Junior Midfielder Manny Ramirez (Waltham, MA), his sixth in their 2022 campaign. 

The Trailblazers' senior keeper Sam Edge had an impressive first 45 minutes in the net, recording eight saves from nine shots on goal, including saves from two rapid rebound shots and going airborne multiple times. Edge wrapped up what could have been his final game of his career in outstanding fashion, finishing with a total of twelve saves on fifteen shots. 

Lancer keeper Andy Ramirez (Waltham, MA) finished with four saves on four shots on goal for Worcester. 

Worcester State extended their lead with a header shot into the net from junior forward Luke-Mark Anu (Salem, MA) in the 62nd minute, assisted by Ramirez. This was Anu's fifth goal of the season, while Ramirez brings his assist tally to seven. 

In the 76th minute, a shot from first year midfielder Wilber Garcia (Bilbao, Spain) that was blocked by Edge was rebounded by first year forward Brady Iovanni (Lunenburg, MA), putting Worcester up 3-0 with just under fifteen to go in the game. 

Worcester State recorded a total of 23 shots (15 on goal), while MCLA shot 9 (4 on goal). 

The Trailblazers bow out of the 2022 MASCAC Tournament, while the Lancers move on to the semifinals. The Blue & Gold continue their campaign with a trip to #2 seed Salem St. to face the Vikings in the semi-finals, with kickoff scheduled for 7pm.

#4 Bridgewater State 6, #5 Westfield State 0   Box Score

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – Senior forward David Nelson (East Bridgewater, Mass.) potted a pair of goals and freshman midfielder Colin Evans (East Longmeadow, Mass.) notched two goals and an assist to lead fourth-seeded Bridgewater State University to a 6-0 shutout victory over #5 seed Westfield State University in the quarterfinal round of the 2022 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) Men's Soccer Tournament on Tuesday night at Swenson Field.

The Bears (7-8-2) advance to the MASCAC Tournament semifinal round and will travel to top-seeded Framingham State University on Friday night to take on the Rams at six. The Owls end the season with an overall record of 3-10-5. The two teams were meeting for just the second time in MASCAC Tournament play and first since 2015.

Nelson got the Bears on the board in the 39th minute. Sophomore forward Brett Ghelfi (Halifax, Mass.) picked up the assist on the strike as he won the ball at midfield off a Westfield goal kick and sent a header down the middle of the field. The ball deflected off an Owl defender and directly to a streaking Nelson who beat the keeper one-on-one with a shot inside the right post.

Junior midfielder Will Halben (Attleboro, Mass.) headed home a crossing pass from junior defender Jacob Ramos (New Bedford, Mass.) to extend the BSU lead to 2-0 with just 1:22 remaining in the first half. Evans also assisted on the goal.

Senior forward Robson Montrond (Brockton, Mass.) nearly gave the Bears a three-goal advantage in the 58th minute as he rang the crossbar after intercepting a pass from the keeper near the top of the 18.

Nelson would make it a 3-0 game just three minutes later as he collected a long pass from sophomore midfielder Carsten Boloz (Southborough, Mass.) on the left side of the six and ripped a close-range shot inside the left post. For Nelson, the goal marked his team-leading ninth of the season.

Sophomore defender Jack O'Toole (Wilbraham, Mass.) converted off a restart in the 84th minute to extend the lead to 4-0. O'Toole buried a shot just under the crossbar from 35 yards out for his third goal of the season.

Evans potted his first two collegiate goals just 76 seconds apart late in the second half to put the finishing touches on the 6-0 win. Boloz setup the first strike as he collected a punt from senior goalkeeper William Russell (Sandwich, Mass.) and slipped a pass between two defenders to a streaking Evans who beat the keeper one-on-one with a shot to the center of the cage. Evans then scored off the rebound of his own shot to round out the scoring with just 13 seconds left to play.

The Bears held a 26-9 shot advantage for the game as well as a 5-2 edge in corner kick attempts.

Russell turned aside six shots to record his seventh win of the season and fifth shutout.

Junior netminders Emilio Mancuso (Ludlow, Mass.) and Collin O'Brien (Windsor Locks, Conn.) combined to make 11 saves between the pipes for the Owls. Mancuso stopped nine shots in 70-plus minutes of action.

Releases courtesy of Bridgewater State and Worcester State Sports Information