Trailblazers and Bears Ready for Clash in MASCAC Semis
North Adams, MA- The MCLA Trailblazers fresh off their quarterfinal win over Framingham State Tuesday, will try to make it two in a row on the road as they face #1 seed Bridgewater State this Friday night at 7:00pm.
The Trailblazers and Bears tied 2-2 in North Adams back on October 25th. The Bears were the aggressors at the start and controlled the play as they jumped out 2-0 just 15 minutes into the match on goals by Conor Murtaugh and Charlie Lawson. The Bears peppered Trailblazer goaltender Matt Robinson early and some key saves kept the score a manageable 2-0. The Trailblazers got one back on a penalty kick by Anthony Basile and started to tilt the action back in the home teams favor as the half progressed.
MCLA continued its solid play in the second half and Basile earned the equalizer in the 56th minute. The teams traded chances throughout the rest of regulation and overtime before settling for a hard-fought tie.
The game was physical and tempers were flaring as the teams combined for 46 fouls and 5 yellow cards.
The Trailblazers are led this season by three second-team all-conference performers, Edward Boateng, Dylan Pereira and Basile.
Boateng tallied eight points on the season collecting three goals and an assist. He scored the game winner in the Trailblazers 2-0 quarterfinal win over Framingham State on Tuesday night. The sophomore is a play maker for the offense dishing out a pair of assists on the season.
Pereira was the conference's rookie of the year in 2013. After being a central midfielder a year ago, he was moved outside in 2014 and scored three goals and added three assists. He has been very versatile since arriving in North Adams.
Basile burst on the scene for MCLA collecting a team best 20 points. He scored nine goals and collected a pair of assists in leading the Trailblazer offense. The physical presence up front created many opportunities for his teammates as he commanded the attention of the defense.
The Bears are led by the MASCAC player of the year in Murtaugh, who like Basile had nine goals and two assists for the Bears; including a goal and an assist in the first match-up between these two teams.
Andrew Chenard helps out up front for Bridgewater as he is second on the team with five goals.
The Bears are 9-7-1 on the season and 5-1-1 in conference play. The Bears are 4-3 at home. MCLA comes into the game with a record of 7-7-3, 2-2-3 in the MASCAC. MCLA is 2-5 on the road this season, but has momentum after their victory at Framingham.