Men's Soccer Advances to MASCAC Semifinals

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. -- Fifth-seeded Bridgewater State got a goal in the 84th minute from freshman Justin Borges (Milford, Mass.) and the Bears held off the fourth-seeded MCLA Trailblazers, 1-0, this evening in a MASCAC quarterfinal matchup.

With the win, the Bears (8-8-2) will advance to the semifinal round and will meet top seeded Worcester State Friday at 4pm in Worcester. The Trailblazers end their respective season at 8-8-1 overall.

The match was played under high intensity with a date in the semifinals at stake. Both defenses would be tested but wouldn't break until Borges' clutch shot. After a foul on the Trailblazers, BSU took a free kick and sent the ball deep into the MCLA end of the field.  Senior Gassendy Pierre (Dorchester, Mass.) would send a pass to the foot of Borges just outside the box. The freshman wheeled around and slammed a shot towards the upper right corner that beat MCLA goaltender Kamron Anderson (Springfield, Mass.) giving the Bears the lead late.

For Borges, the goal marked the first of his collegiate career.

MCLA couldn't muster up any chances in the final minutes and the Bears had the road victory. The path wasn't easy though as the Trailblazer offense pressured the Bears all night long. They outshot BSU 22-12 on the evening and held a 7-2 edge in corner kicks.

The first half began with MCLA coming out firing as they attempted the first three shots of the game but couldn't get one past BSU freshman starting keeper Nate Morgado (Dartmouth, Mass.). MCLA had a couple of good looks to break the ice, but each time the Bears' defense would hold up.

Bridgewater had a golden chance in the 19th minute when sophomore Jameson Bradley (Westborough, Mass.) ripped a shot at Anderson, but the junior keeper deflected it to keep the zeroes on the scoreboard. Although the half was scoreless, MCLA owned an 11-6 shot edge over the Bears and a 4-1 mark in corners. Morgado collected five first half saves while Anderson had three.

MCLA had a five minute stretch early in the second half when they generated numerous chances to break the deadlock after a scoreless first half.  Freshman Ryan Wanek (South Salem, N.Y.) had a look in close that was in traffic and blocked.  Anthony Basile (East Longmeadow, Mass.) headed one just outside the post, and a scramble off a corner had potential, but Morgado punched it away.

The Bears had a promising chance as sophomore Filipe Gomes (Fogo, Cape Verde) took a through ball headed towards the top of the box, but Anderson came off the line just in time to beat Gomes to the ball negating the chance. Later in the second half, sophomore Kane Moran (Perth, Australial) corralled a loose ball  in the 76th minute and had Anderson out of position.  His shot, however, was cleared out of harms way by Trailblazer Jack Peterson (Bennington, Vt.) keeping the Bears off the board.

Morgado earned his fourth win and second shutout of the season as he finished with eight saves. Anderson turned aside four shots in the setback.