MASCAC Men's Soccer Tournament Bracket
Fitchburg, MA --- Sophomore Alex Goncalves (Ludlow, MA) potted the game-winning goal and senior Alex Wolfel (Unionville, CT) chipped in with a pair of assists as Worcester State defeated Fitchburg State, 2-0 in MASCAC men's soccer action this evening.
With the win the Lancers post their first unbeaten MASCAC slate since the 2005 season at 6-0-1 and run their record to 10-3-4 - including a 9-1-1 mark in their last 11 contests.
WSU has earned the top seed and a bye in next week's conference tournament. They will host the winner of the #4 Mass Maritime and fifth-seeded Salem State matchup on Friday evening at 7 PM.
The Falcons fall to 6-7-5 and 1-2-4 in the MASCAC, but earned the sixth seed in the league playoffs. They head to #3 Bridgewater State on Tuesday in the other quarterfinal matchup.
Goncalves netted his second marker of the campaign in the 34th minute to help put the Blue and Gold up 1-0 at the intermission. He flew up the left sideline off a nice pass from Wolfel.
In the final stanza, senior Brendan Whitson (Auburn, MA) helped give the visitors some insurance with his MASCAC-best 12th marker of the season from Wolfel.
Fitchburg State registered several scoring chances in the second period including a pair of opportunities by freshman Mauro Gimenez (Fitchburg, MA) and senior Carmen Bordonaro (Saugus, MA).
In the opening frame, sophomore Zach Tracy (Richmond, RI) put a shot on net, but sophomore Tyler Stanton (Springfield, MA) knocked away the shot with a team save to keep the hosts off the scoreboard.
The Falcons actually outshot their opponents 18-15 which included a 7-4 margin in shots on goal. Corner kicks were even (7-7).
Sophomore Nick Zucco (Ludlow, MA) blanked his sixth opponent of the season as he turned aside six shots. Zucco completed the conference circuit yielding just three markers in seven MASCAC games.
FSU junior Aidan Hanratty (E. Bridgewater, MA) stopped four shots for Fitchburg State.
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