After winning their respective quarterfinal games on Tuesday, Bridgewater State and Salem State advance to the MASCAC Women's Soccer semifinals on Friday.

4 Salem State 2, #5 MCLA 1              Box Score

 #4 Salem State defeated #5 MCLA 2-1 in the quarterfinals of the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament on Tuesday afternoon at Alumni Field. Meg McFarland (Dedham, Mass.) scored the go-ahead goal in the 63rd minute to help the Vikings advance to the semifinal round where they will face #1 seed Worcester State on Friday at 7:00 PM.

Salem State (10-7-1) controlled the tempo for most of the first half, outshooting the Trailblazers 7-1 for the half. Kelly Blanchard (Bridgewater, Mass.) posted her third goal of the season in the 18th minute as she broke behind the Trailblazers' defense and off a feed from Ashley Leboeuf (Dracut, Mass.) placed a shot from the box into the lower left corner. Shannon Higgins (Somerville, Mass.) nearly extended the lead for the Salem State in the 42nd minute, but her looping shot was tipped just above the crossbar by goalie Megan Richardson (Adams, Mass.) after a corner attempt.    

The Vikings continued to pressure the Trailblazers (3-13) in the second half as they maintained possession on MCLA's side of the field. However, the Trailblazers finally capitalized when Brooke Mangiardi (Pittsfield, Mass.) converted a pass from Kayla Baker (Shrewsbury, Mass.) from four yards out on MCLA's second shot of the game, tying the score at 1-1.

The momentum sparked the Trailblazers, but a mishandle on a corner gave McFarland a wide-open net and the sophomore put Salem State back on top 2-1 in the 63rd minute. The Vikings just missed having a two-goal lead as Casey McFall's (Wilmington, Mass.) shot from 22 yards out rang off the crossbar with 22 minutes remaining.    

Needing one final push with less than 10 minutes to play, MCLA's Britt Whitford (Schagticoke, N.Y.) shot was tipped away after a corner by goalie Rebecca Sabino (Peabody, Mass.), keeping the score at 2-1.

Sabino made one save in the win for the Vikings, which outshot the Trailblazers 13-3. Richardson made seven stops for MCLA.   

3 Bridgewater State 4, #6 Framingham State 1                Box Score

Seniors Courtney Pepin (Uxbridge, Mass.) and Nicole Simas(Dartmouth, Mass.) tallied two goals apiece to lead the third-seeded Bridgewater State University Bears to a 4-1 victory over #6 Framingham State University in the opening round of the 2017 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) Women's Soccer Tournament on Tuesday night at Swenson Field.

Junior defender Kassidy Campbell (Norton, Mass.) also notched a career-high three assists for the Bears (12-6) who advance to the tournament semifinal round on Friday afternoon at #2 Westfield State University. Game time is slated for 4:00 PM. The Rams end the season with an overall record of 6-11-1.

Bridgewater State tallied a pair of goal just 48 seconds apart early in the first half to take a 2-0 lead as Campbell assisted on both markers.

On the first goal, Campbell sent a corner kick into the six and Simas drove the ball into the back of the net to open the scoring. Moments later, Campbell accepted a short pass from junior midfielder Tess Nagle (Pembroke, Mass.) and delivered a long volley behind the Framingham defense. Pepin corralled the ball and beat the keeper one-on-one with a shot inside the right post from the top of the six.

The Rams cut the deficit in half in the 16th minute on a well-placed shot by sophomore forward Erin Angelillo (Southington, Conn.) from outside the 18. Angelillo drilled a shot from the left side over the outstretched hand of the BSU keeper and inside the far post.

The Bears would take the 2-1 advantage into the intermission as they outshot the Rams, 11-6, in the opening stanza.

Simas made it a 3-1 game in the 52nd minute with her team leading tenth goal of the season. Sophomore defender Kaitlyn Bongarzone(Mansfield, Mass.) picked up the assist as she split the defense with a long arcing pass. Simas collected the ball outside the 18, dribbled in and slipped a shot past the oncoming goalkeeper and into the center of the net.

Pepin put the finishing touches on the 4-1 victory as she headed home a crossing pass from Campbell in the 80th minute. Pepin tied Simas for the team lead in goals with her tenth.

The Bears finished with a 26-10 shot advantage as well as a 6-0 edge in corner kicks.

Senior netminder Lauren DeSousa (Taunton, Mass.) made five saves to record her 12th win of the season and 29th in a BSU uniform. Junior goalkeeper Jennifer Stevens (Hopkinton, Mass.) turned aside seven shots in the setback for the Rams.

Campbell, who entered the 2017 campaign with one career assist, has five over the last two games and six on the season. Bongarzone leads the team with seven assists.

With her four points on the night, Pepin moved into ninth place on the Bears' all-time scoring list as she now has 51 points (19G, 13A) in four seasons at Bridgewater State.

The Bears' 12 wins are the most since 2002 when that year's squad recorded a program record 14 victories (14-6).

Releases courtesy of Bridgewater State and Salem State Sports Information