Trailblazers fall to Bears 4-1 in MASCAC semifinals

Courtesy of Bridgewater Sports Information

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – The Bridgewater State University men's soccer team potted three first half goals en route to a 4-1 victory over visiting MCLA in the semifinal round of the 2014 MASCAC Tournament.

With the win, the top-seeded and defending conference champion Bears (10-7-1) advance to the MASCAC Tournament Final for the sixth time in program history.  Bridgewater will host #3 Fitchburg State University on Sunday at noon with an NCAA Tournament bid on the line.  The Falcons edged #2 Mass. Maritime Academy, 1-0, in the other semifinal matchup. The fifth-seeded Trailblazers wrap up the 2014 campaign with an overall mark of 7-8-3.

Andrew Chenard (Kingston, Mass.), Jonathan Pires (Medford, Mass.) and Justin Kachadoorian (Leicester, Mass.) each netted first half goal for the Bears with Chenard opening the scoring in the ninth minute as he collected a long volleyball fromChris Naughton (Braintree, Mass.) and blasted a shot inside the left post from twenty yards out.  Pires headed in a cross fromSawyer Fleck (Foxboro, Mass.) in the 13th minute, while Kachadoorian gave the hosts a 3-0 lead in the 34th minute with a one-timer inside the right post off a cross from David Wilson (Charlton, Mass.).

Conor Murtagh (Walpole, Mass.) deflected home a long cross from Wilson in the 61st minute to increase the BSU advantage to 4-0.  For Murtagh, the goal marked his MASCAC leading tenth of the season.

Bridgewater held a 23-11 shot advantage for the game as well as a 6-1 edge in corner kicks.

Colin Jepson (Sandwich, Mass.) made four saves to earn his tenth win of the season between the pipes for the Bears, whileMatt Robinson (Petersham, Mass.) turned aside six shots for MCLA.

An own goal in the 69th minute spoiled the  Bears' shutout bid.  Off a short corner, Dylan Pereira (Ludlowe, Mass.) sent a cross into the goal mouth that was knocked in by a BSU defender on an attempted clear.