Men's Soccer Posts 2-1 Victory over UMass Dartmouth

NORTH DARTMOUTH, Mass. – Senior forward Simao Mendes (Brockton, Mass.) broke a 1-1 tie with a penalty kick goal in the second half to lift the visiting Bridgewater State University men's soccer team to a 2-1 victory over the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth on Tuesday evening at Cressy Field.

The Bears (8-7-1) are 8-3-1 in their last 12 games and have won four straight.  The loss came on senior night for the Corsairs (11-5) and it was their second straight defeat at home.

Sophomore forward Steve McAvoy (Walpole, Mass.) opened the scoring for the Bears in the 16th minute when he tallied his third goal of the season.  McAvoy capitalized on a misplayed ball as he tucked a shot under the crossbar from 25 yards out.  Both squads would trade chances, but BSU would take the 1-0 lead into halftime.

In the second half the Corsairs knotted the game at one when sophomore defender Jacinto Centeio (Boston, Mass.) scored his first goal of the season in the 55th minute off a pass from junior forward Victor Ferreira (St. Michael, Portugal).

Mendes would provide the winning tally in the 73rd minute as he recorded his eighth career penalty kick goal.  With the marker, Mendes moved past Domingos Leal into fifth place on the Bears' all-time scoring list as he now has 64 points (22G, 20A).

BSU junior keeper Matt Bagley (Braintree, Mass.) made seven stops to post his eighth win of the season.  The UMD senior goalkeepers Mike Phelan (Carver, Mass.) and Jon Doucette (Boxford, Mass.) each played a half and made a save.

The Corsairs outshot the Bears by a margin of 16-6, while the Bears held a slight 4-3 edge in corner kicks.

Both teams return to action on Saturday.  The Corsairs visit Little East Conference foe Eastern Connecticut State while the Bears travel to Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference rival Westfield State.