Men's Soccer moves to 2-0 in conference play with 2-1 win over Owls

North Adams, MA- The MCLA men's soccer team jumped out to a 2-0 lead and then held off the hard charging Westfield State Owls to earn a 2-1 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletics Conference (MASCAC) win.  The Trailblazers improve their overall mark to 2-4-1, however both their wins are in MASCAC play as they're now 2-0.

The Owls dip to 3-5 overall and are 0-2 in the conference.

Both teams had chances in the first half of play, but neither could crack the scoreboard.  MCLA had a golden chance in the opening minutes of play, but their shot went wide.  The Owls had a great chance of their own later in the half, but Scott Porter's shot hit the crossbar,

With just 3:18 remaining until halftime, MCLA finally broke through.  Ethan Smith dribbled deep into the Westfield zone and crossed a ball that slipped past a pair of Owl defenders and caught the goalkeeper out of position.  His pass found the foot of James Murchinson who tapped it home for a 1-0 lead.  The goal was the first of the season for Murchinson.

After halftime, MCLA gave themselves a cushion.  After pressuring in the Owl end, Gabe Dias took an Owl turnover and slipped a pass to a streaking Cola Bean.  He would easily beat Owl keeper Drew Adams for his team best 3rd goal of the season and the Trailblazers led 2-0.

The Owls would not go quietly however as they clawed back.  In the 87th minute, their persistance finally paid off.  Jake Silvestre would collect a loose ball off the foot of Coleby Andrade and knock it home to slice the deficit to 2-1.  It was Silvestre's second goal of the season.

Westfield kept up the pressure and mounted a couple of shots in the closing minutes, however MCLA's Sam Edge would keep them at bay to preserve the win.

Edge made 6 saves to earn his second win of the season.  

Westfield's Smith stopped 7 shots in defeat.

The Trailblazers are off until next Friday when they host Mass. Maritime.