#5 Men's Soccer set to challenge #1 Salem State on Friday in MASCAC Semifinals
North Adams, MA- Fresh off a 2-0 road win over Mass. Maritime on Tuesday, the MCLA Men's Soccer team is now preparing for a bigger challenge. The fifth seeded Trailblazers will continue their playoff path on Friday night when they take on the top seed, #1 Salem State Friday evening in the MASCAC semifinals at 7:00pm. The winner will advance into the championship round on Sunday.
The two teams met just three weeks ago with the Vikings earning a 1-0 win over the Trailblazers. Salem State earned the top seed by virtue of their perfect 7-0 mark in conference play. Another impressive feat, the Vikings have yet to concede a goal to any MASCAC opponent in 2021.
MCLA is riding high however after their win over the Buccaneers on Tuesday night. In that contest, MCLA received second half goals from Colin Rousseau and Cola Bean to spark the offense. Trailblazer goalkeeper Sam Edge and the defense pitched a shutout even though MMA outshot MCLA. Both facets will have to be on display on Friday for the Trailblazers to pull off the upset.
In the earlier meeting between the two teams, Salem controlled the majority of play and outshot MCLA 26-7on the afternoon. After a scoreless first half, Salem's Damon Deocleciano converted a pass from Lucas Amaral to give SSU a 1-0 lead. Viking keeper Matt Hauntsman kept the MCLA offense at bay the rest of the way to give the Vikings the win.
Salem's offense is paced by freshman Kendy Prince. He leads the MASCAC by a wide margin with 17 goals on the season in just 14 games. The high powered Viking offense has scored 39 goals this season while surrendering just 22, none of which came in conference play. Amaral also poses an offensive threat collecting a pair of goals but adding a team best 5 assists on the season.
MCLA has been led all season by the offensive trio of Cola Bean, Junior Florent, and Rousseau. They've combined for 10 goals and 8 assists in leading MCLA back to the conference semifinals for the first time since 2014. Defensively, Sam Edge has been the main man in goal for MCLA. He has started 13 games and amassed 89 saves throughout the season. In the earlier matchup against the Vikings, he stopped 10 shots.
The winner will advance and face the winner of the second conference semifinal. That matchup pits the #2 Framingham State Rams versus the #3 Bridgewater State Bears. That game also kicks off on Friday night.
To watch the action live on Friday, tune in to www.mascac.tv