Salem State and Westfield State are headed to the MASCAC Women's Soccer Tournament title game after winning their thrilling semifinal contests on Friday night.

#3 Westfield State 2, #2 Bridgewater State 1          Box Score

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – Senior forward Ashley Levya's (Walpole, Mass.) goal with 4:48 remaining in regulation lifted #3 seed Westfield State University to a 2-1 victory over #2 Bridgewater State University in the semifinal round of the 2018 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) Women's Soccer Tournament on Friday night at Swenson Field.

The Owls (9-6-3) advance to the MASCAC title game on Sunday versus #5 Salem State University at Westfield State on Sunday at noon. The Bears end the season with an overall record of 9-6-2.

Freshman forward Delaney Langton (Scituate, R.I.) staked the Bears to a 1-0 lead in the 20th minute. Langton collected a crossing pass from junior forward Amelia Burke (Plymouth, Mass.) and drove a shot from the top of the six into the left side of the net for her fifth goal of the season

Senior defender Casey Rotti (Rutland, Mass.) knotted the score at 1-1 in the 27th minute as she one-timed a corner kick sent into the box by freshman midfielder Jenn Rennich (Bedford, Mass.). The scoring strike marked Rotti's fourth of the year.

Early in the second half, Westfield senior keeper Natalia Falcone (Sutton, Mass.) made a key stop on a point-blank range shot by BSU senior midfielder Nicole Simas (Dartmouth, Mass.).

Levya provide the late-game heroics less than five minutes after she had subbed back into the contest. Senior forward Nicole Chretien(North Attleboro, Mass.) started the play with a long sideline pass to Rennich who tapped the ball around a BSU defender, dribbled towards the net and served a cross to Levya who was left unattended near the top of the 18. Levya beat the Bridgewater netminder with a shot to the center of the cage for her fourth goal of 2018 campaign.

The Bears had a chance to tie the game with under two minutes remaining, but senior defender Caitlin Rowley's (Lakeville, Mass.) header off a Kassidy Campbell (Norton, Mass.) volley into the box struck the right post.

Westfield finished with a slight 15-14 shot advantage, while Bridgewater held a 5-4 edge in corner kick attempts.

Falcone made seven saves to record her eighth win of the season between the pipes. BSU junior goalkeeper Kellie Souza (Wilmington, Mass.) turned aside six shots in the setback.

#5 Salem State 1, #1 Worcester State 1        PK Away       Box Score 

WORCESTER, Mass. - #5 seed Salem State had the upset Friday night with the victory over #1 seed Worcester State in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference Semifinals at Coughlin Field.

Statistically, the match goes down as a tie for both teams, as the Lancers end their season with a record of 10-7-1. The Vikings move to 6-10-2, and move on to the MASCAC Championship game, which will be played at Westfield State on Sunday.

The Lancers got on the board first, tallying a goal in the game's 23rd minute. Sophomore Ali Maldonado(Rutland, Mass.) uncorked a rocket from just over 20 yards out that eluded the outstretched arms of Salem State goalkeeper Amanda Backe (Danvers, Mass.) and found its way into the top left corner of the net. The Lancers would carry this 1-0 lead into the break, outshooting the Vikings 11-2 in the opening 45 minutes.

The 1-0 Lancer edge looked as though it would hold up as it remained 1-0 as the clock ticked down in the second half. Junior Katie Brown (Milford, Mass.) had other plans, however. On what appeared to be a broken play, Brown, freshly subbed into the game, let go a shot from 30 yards out that perfectly kissed off the right post and into the net to even the score at 1-1 with exactly five minutes showing on the clock. Sophomore Teagan Gilliss (Milford, Mass.) was credited with an assist on the play, that sent the contest into overtime.

The two overtime sessions were all Lancers, but the Salem State defense held tough in fighting off the Lancer onslaught. In the two overtime periods, the Lancers had a handful of flurries in front of the Viking cage, but despite a 9-0 Lancer shooting edge, the contest would require penalty kicks to be decided.

In the penalty shootout, Brown, Ashley Leboeuf (Dracut, Mass.), and Taylor Capozzi (Lynn, Mass.) all converted for the Vikings, setting up senior Colleen Hurley (Braintree, Mass.) with a chance to win it. The senior stepped up and buried the kick into the left side of the net to cap the stunning upset. Maldonado and senior Nikki DiPilla (Sterling, Mass.) converted for the Lancers in the penalty shootout.

Backe finished the evening with seven saves in the victory for Salem State. Worcester State freshman goalkeeper Ashley Spellman (Lancaster, Mass.) turned aside three Viking shots in the defeat.

 Releases courtesy of Bridgewater State and Worcester State Sports Information