Men's Soccer seeded third in MASCAC Championships, will host Worcester State Tuesday at 1:30

2015 MASCAC Men's Soccer Bracket

WESTFIELD, Mass. – The Westfield State Owls have landed the top seed in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference Men's Soccer Tournament which starts on Tuesday, November 3 with the quarterfinal round of play.

The quarterfinals begin on Tuesday with third-seeded MCLA taking on sixth-seeded Worcester State at 1:30 pm while fourth-seeded Massachusetts Maritime hosts fifth-seeded Bridgewater State at 7 pm. The winner of MCLA/ Worcester State will play second-seeded Framingham State on Friday, November 6 at 6 pm. Winner of Massachusetts Maritime/Bridgewater State plays top-seeded Westfield State at 7 pm Friday.

The winners of the semifinal contests will hit the pitch on Sunday at the highest remaining seed to decide the MASCAC tournament champion and automatic qualifier for the NCAA tournament.

Landing the top-seed in the tournament and a first round bye, Westfield State finished the MASCAC season with a 5-2 record and the regular season title. Goalie Alex Kraver is third in the league in save percentage (.826) and goals against average (1.48) and fourth in saves (76). Brodie Keene led the Owls with 16 points on seven goals and two assists during his freshman campaign.

Earning the other first round bye, Framingham State closed out the league schedule with a 4-3 record. Cory Cardeiro finished second in the conference with 31 points on 13 goals and five assists. He also led the conference in shots with 88.

MCLA is next with the third seed after tallying three wins in league play. Anthony Basile netted 19 points which was the fifth best total in the MASCAC and nine goals, good enough for fifth in the league. Following in the fourth seed is Massachusetts Maritime who also had three wins during the MASCAC season. Joe Cohen had a solid seed for the Buccaneers with the fourth-best league goals against average (1.69) and fifth-best save percentage (.767).

Sitting in the fifth spot is Bridgewater State. Due to competition oversight, the Bears vacated four conference wins (12 points) and four non-conference games to account for their seeding in the tournament. Reigning MASCAC Player of the Year Conor Murtagh finished the season first in the MASCAC in goals with 14 and points with 32. Goalie Colin Jepson was top in the league in goals against average (0.54) and save percentage (.877).

Closing out the tournament field is Worcester State with the sixth seed. The Lancers netted three wins during the MASCAC schedule. Bryan Brasil, in his first season with the team, was third in the MASCAC in goals with 10 and points with 25.

Last season, Fitchburg State claimed the 2014 MASCAC Tournament Championship with a victory over top-seeded Bridgewater State, 1-0, to advance to the NCAA Tournament.