MASCAC Men's Soccer Tournament Bracket
Buzzards Bay, MA --- Sophomore Alex Wolfel (Unionville, CT) scored a pair of second half goals for Worcester State to help lift the Lancers to a 2-0 triumph over Fitchburg State in MASCAC men's soccer action this evening at Clean Harbors Stadium this evening in the regular season finale for both squads.
With the win the Blue and Gold improve to 8-7-2 and 4-2-1 in conference play as they have earned the third seed in the MASCAC Men's Soccer Tournament. WSU will travel to #2 Salem State in the semifinals for a 3:30 matchup on Thursday. The Falcons end their season at 3-13-1 and 1-6 in the MASCAC.
The contest was originally hosted by the Lancers at Coughlin Field on Saturday, but it was called in the 27th minute off due to unplayable conditions with the snowstorm that started in the afternoon.
Both squads had chances throughout the first period to score the first tally of the contest.
In the 16th minute Fitchburg State junior Jason Pereira (Wilmington, MA) was wide open 10 yards from the left side following a pass, but sophomore Chris Sanborn (Holden, MA) was right there to kick it out of harms way.
Less than five minutes later, WSU senior Andrew Babineau (Webster, MA) ran past the backs and looked to strike on a one-on-one opportunity, but his bid hit the left post.
In the closing minutes of the frame, Falcons first-year Frank Wansi (Lynn, MA) and sophomore Kenneth Kelly (Marstons Mills, MA) slipped behind the defense on a breakaway, but the pass from Wansi was too strong to Kelly and his bid went to wide left.
Play was gridlocked in the opening frame as Fitchburg State held the 7-6 edge in shots (4-0 on goal) while WSU did nothing with both of their corner kick opportunities.
The flow of the contest continued at the same pace until Wolfel put the Lancers on top with his team-leading seventh marker of the season in the 57th minute. The sophomore netted his second-game winning goal in as many games with a free-kick that was 25 yards out on the right side of the box.
The Falcons were held without a shot 20 minutes into the second stanza until sophomore Carmen Bordanaro (Saugus, MA) made several nice moves to get within range to knot the score, but his rocket was stopped by senior Evan Wilga (Dudley, MA). Bordanaro had another chance for FSU in the 83rd minute, but he was denied again by Wilga.
Wolfel put the game away in the 88th minute when he helped the Lancers take advantage of a poor play by Fitchburg State's keeper. Freshman Ben Gerhardt (Jefferson, MA) intercepted the errant pass and sent it right to Wolfel as he tacked on the insurance marker for his 25th career point.
Wilga would end his night with five saves in his fifth shutout of the season and the 14th of his career. First-year Aidan Hanratty (E. Bridgewater, MA) collected four stops in the defeat.
The Lancers would finish with a 17-11 lead in shots (6-6 on goal) and a 7-0 margin in corners.