NCAA Men's Soccer Tournament Preview

By Jim Fenton

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- The experience was a brand new one for members of the Bridgewater State University men's soccer team two years ago this week.

The Bears were participants in the 2023 NCAA Division III tournament, and since it was the program's first trip to the nationals since 2018, players were learning on the fly.

They took a bus to Medford, Mass., and played host and nationally ranked Tufts University, who defeated BSU, 3-0.

Two years later, the Bears are back in the NCAAs, and for 12 players who were on the '23 squad, they have a clear picture of what this week is all about.

BSU (13-5-1) departed Friday morning for Middletown, Conn., where it will open the NCAAs against Rowan University (15-3-4) on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. at Jackson Field on the campus of Wesleyan University.

The Bears received an automatic bid for their eighth NCAA appearance after winning the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference tournament.

"I'm really excited for how this week will play out," said senior captain Ryan Healy (Cork, Ireland). "For the guys returning, I think it's a big opportunity for us.

"I do think being there, having that experience, it will help us a lot in terms of what we think we can do and what we can actually get accomplished."

The dozen players from two years ago include six who started the loss to Tufs and two others who came off the bench.

The returning starters include seniors Gavin Norton (Rockland, Mass.), Filippo Mucci (Vineyard Haven, Mass.), juniors Hector Bucio (Easton, Mass.), Nicholas Ribeiro (Bellingham, Mass.), Tyler Chang (Acushnet, Mass.) and Ethan Mallett (Ellington, Conn.).

Healy and senior Dominek Borden (New Bedford, Mass.) came off the bench against the Jumbos while seniors Brady McDonald (Florence, Mass.) and Nick Anselmo (Tyngsborough, Mass.) and juniors Connor Wesloski (Wilbraham, Mass.) and Frankie Morales (Brockton, Mass.) were also on the roster.

"It was a really cool environment," remembers Chang. "Just the atmosphere itself was crazy, going up a day early, practicing on the field, having a team dinner at the hotel. It couldn't be better.

"It'll help a lot for us this year. We know what it's like, what the competition will be like, how it goes, how everything works. I'm looking forward to what's to come."

BSU has a practice scheduled for Jackson Field on Friday, will get together as a team at night and be ready to go in the afternoon on Saturday.

"I think a majority of guys have already played (in the NCAAs), so they'll have a little bit of an idea," said coach Brendan Adams. "It should be helpful. They kind of know what's going on, how to handle themselves. That should make it a little easier."

The Bears are facing Rowan, located in Glassboro, N.J., a program in the NCAAs for the 32nd time with national titles in 1981 and 1990.

The Profs won the New Jersey Athletic Conference championship for the second year in a row and the third time in four seasons.

Senior Johnny Troiano (Hazlet, N.J.) is the conference's Offensive Player of the Year for the second time after scoring 17 goals while senior Ryan Cleary (Turnersville, N.J.) is the Defensive Player of the Year.

"They're a very good team," said Adams. "At this time of year, you're not finding a cupcake. If you don't have the right fundamentals or techniques, they'll expose your weaknesses. We'll have to sharpen up a little bit going into the game where we're right at the right level."

BSU's schedule this season included three teams ranked nationally in Division III -- No. 8 Wheaton College, No. 14 Middlebury and No. 18 Brandeis University.

The Bears also faced four New England teams who are in the NCAAs in Middlebury, Wheaton, Brandeis and UMass Boston.

"I had told the guys after the last regular-season game that I was real proud of them," said Adams. "We had a very difficult schedule with (four) teams that are in the NCAAs.

"The guys could have jumped ship (after some losses), but they understand the bigger picture. They did a good job moving on. It's all about learning from each game and I think the guys did a fantastic job this year of staying the course."

This is the ninth NCAA tournament game for BSU, and the Bears are 1-7.

Their first trip to the nationals was in 1990, a 2-0 loss at Babson College.

BSU's lone win came at home against Baruch, 2-0, in 2004 and was followed by a loss at Stevens in Hoboken, N.J.

Since then, the Bears have lost at Wheaton (2007), Amherst (2013 and 2018), MIT (2015) and Tufts (2023).

The winner of the BSU-Rowan game plays on Sunday against either Wesleyan (9-4-4) or Lehman College (10-2-4) of New York.