Trailblazers tripped up by Bears 1-0 in MASCAC opener in Men's Soccer

North Adams, MA- The visiting Bridgewater State Men's Soccer team scored in the ninth minute and Colin Jepson recorded a shutout as the Bears slipped past MCLA 1-0 in the MASCAC opener for both schools.  The Bears won their fifth straight game in moving to 5-1 overall and are now 1-0 in league play.  MCLA is now 0-3-2 and 0-1 in conference play.

MCLA had a chance early on in the contest but Dylan Pereira couldn't get the ball past Jepson.  The Bears struck quickly in transition as Conor Murtagh would produce the game winner early on just ten minutes into the match.  Following his save, Jepson punted out to Felipe Gomes who corralled the ball near midfield and fed Andrew Chenard streaking down the right flank.  Chenard slipped a through ball past the MCLA defense and Murtagh was in all alone.  The senior easily beat Kamron Anderson giving the Bears a 1-0 advantage.

Both teams had scoring chances during the remainder of the half.  Bridgewater held a slim 9-8 shot advantage, but each team had some shots from inside the box.  MCLA had a great chance to score early on when Dylan Pereira found a loose ball deep in the box, but BSU's Colin Jepsen was there to keep the Trailblazers off the board. 

In the closing half, MCLA had chances to tie the game, while Bridgewater missed opportunities to stretch the lead.  Trailblazers Pereira and Anthony Basile ripped shots at Jepson over the closing period, but the senior stopped them all.  Murtagh had a one on one chance against MCLA's Kamron Anderson, however the MCLA keeper took away the angle keeping the score at 1-0 in favor of the Bears.

Bridgewater maintained possession over the final five minutes and effectively held on for their first conference win of 2015.

Jepson stopped all five shots he saw in upping his mark to 5-1.  Gomes and Murtagh were a challenge all afternoon as they collected 9 shots between them.

Anderson made a game high 12 saves for MCLA in defeat.

For the afternoon, the Bears held a 23-15 shot advantage, including a 14-7 mark over the closing half.  BSU also had 5 corners to MCLA's 1.

MCLA is back in action on Tuesday when they travel to Skidmore.