Bridgewater State and Westfield State Advance to MASCAC Men's Soccer Title Game
Bridgewater State and Westfield State advance to the title game of the 2023 MASCAC Men's Soccer Tournament after winning their semifinal contests on Friday.
Bridgewater State and Westfield State advance to the title game of the 2023 MASCAC Men's Soccer Tournament after winning their semifinal contests on Friday.
#1 Bridgewater State 1, #4 Framingham State 0 Box Score
BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – Junior forward Dominek Borden (New Bedford, Mass.) scored in the 86th minute to lift top-seeded Bridgewater State University to a dramatic 1-0 victory over #4 seed Framingham State University in the semifinal round of the 2023 Massachusetts Stats Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) Men's Soccer Tournament on Friday afternoon at Mazzaferro Field.
The Bears (11-2-5) advance to the MASCAC Championship Game for the tenth time in program history and will host #2 seed Westfield State University on Sunday at noon. Westfield advanced to the championship game on penalty kicks (4-2) after playing #3 Salem State University to a 2-2 tie through regulation and two overtime periods.
The Rams end the season with an overall record of 11-8-1.
Following a scoreless first 85 minutes, the Bears capitalized on turnover near midfield forced by Borden. Senior forward David Nelson (East Bridgewater, Mass.) sent a pass to freshman midfielder Nicholas Ribeiro (Bellingham, Mass.) on the right who dribbled in towards the 18 and sent a crossing pass that eluded Nelson as well as a Framingham defender. Borden, coming down the left side, ran onto the ball at the top of the six and buried a shot into the left side of the cage for his fourth goal of the season.
Shots were even for the game at 12 apiece while both teams attempted four corner kicks.
BSU graduate goalkeeper William Russell (Sandwich, Mass.) made seven saves to record his 11 win of the season and sixth shutout. Russell also increased his career total to 24 wins and 13 1/2 shutouts as he is now fifth all-time in program history in shutouts and tied for fifth in wins. Five of Russell's seven stops came in the second half.
Junior netminder Joseph Sturzo (Lowell, Mass.) turned aside two shots in 86-plus minutes (86:46) minutes of work between the pipes for the Rams.
#2 Westfield State 2, #3 Salem State 2 Home PK Box Score
WESTFIELD, Mass. – Westfield State first-year midfielder Ethan Margolis (Wakefield, Mass.) scored the game-tying goal midway through the second half, then fired home the penalty-kick winner to send the Owls to the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference Championship game over Salem State in a conference semifinal match from Alumni Field in Westfield, Mass. on Friday night.
The Owls will face top-seeded Bridgewater State in the conference title game on the road at noon. Westfield won the penalty shootout 4-2 after the game was unable to be decided after two ten-minute overtime periods.
Dylan Senra (Dartmouth, Mass.) put the Vikings ahead in the penalty shootout, then the Owls scored four-straight goals, punctuated by Margolis who rocketed a shot into the left-upper 90 to secure the win. The Owls trailed 1-0 in the shootout before Luke Theroux (Chicopee, Mass.) made a spectacular diving save to punch the ball off the post and out of play, then Paul Whalley (Southwick, Mass.) calmly netted his PK attempt to even it at one apiece.
Michael Flynn (Dedham, Mass.) and Devonte Livramento (Brockton, Mass.) traded goals then a miss from the Vikings swung the lead in the Owls favor after Carter Hebert (Easthampton, Mass.) deposited his attempt.
Westfield overcame two separate one-goal deficits as Salem scored the lone tally of the first half. Brendan Davis (Dracut, Mass.) carried the ball down the sideline where he managed to tap a pass to Aaron O'Toole (Quincy, Mass.) who fired home the game's opening score 16:13 into play.
The Vikings maintained their one goal lead until the 61st minute where Margolis centered a ball into the box off the head of Santino Mazza (East Longmeadow, Mass.) who headed it to himself twice with the second one beating Salem keeper Matt Hauntsman (Milford, N.H.) to the far post.
In the 74th minute, a free kick attempt for Salem dangerously entered the box where O'Toole directed a shot on net that was tipped home off the head of Michael Flynn (Dedham, Mass.) to give the Vikings a lead with less than 16 minutes to play.
Westfield wasted no time finding the equalizer, responding 52 seconds later with Margolis at the center of the scoring once again, corralling a misplayed ball by Salem, then lofting a shot from the top of the box that grazed the bottom of the crossbar and into the back of the net.
After the Margolis tally, the game remained tied at two heading into the overtime frames where neither team was able to convert. Theroux made a pair of critical saves in the opening overtime period, then Hauntsman saved his lone shot on net faced in the extra period.
The Vikings ended up outshooting the Owls in the match 23-18, with shots on goal finishing even at nine each. Theroux piled up seven saves for Westfield. Hauntsman stopped six shots on goal for Salem.
Westfield State (7-7-2) seeks their first conference championship since 2012 and will travel to Bridgewater State to face the top-seeded Bears on Sunday at noon. Salem State's season comes to a close after the penalty kick decision.