BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – Senior forward Conor Murtagh (Walpole, Mass.) and freshman forward Filipe Gomes (Fogo, Cape Verde) each scored to lead the Bridgewater State University men's soccer team to a 2-0 Senior Day victory over visiting Worcester State University in a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) contest on Saturday afternoon at Swenson Field.
The host Bears improve to 14-3-1 (7-0 MASCAC) on the season and clinch a spot in next week's MASCAC Tournament. The Lancers slip to 6-9-1 (3-4 MASCAC) overall. The tournament pairings have been released and can be found HERE.
After a scoreless first half, Murtagh converted a header off a perfectly executed cross from Gomes in the 61st minute for his conference leading 14th goal of the season.
Earlier in the stanza, freshman midfielder Kane Moran (Attadale, Western Australia) nearly got the Bears on the board in the 50th minute. Kane's header off a corner was turned as aside by a terrific diving stop by Worcester sophomore keeper Jason Barrett (Spencer, Mass.).
Moments after Murtagh's goal, senior forward Andrew Chenard (Plymouth, Mass.) sent a diving header over the crossbar off a cross from senior midfielder Kolin Campbell (Norton, Mass.).
Worcester nearly tied it with 19 minutes remaining on a cross to the far post, but freshman forward Bryan Brasil (Williamsburg, Mass.) was unable to redirect the ball into the unguarded left side of the net.
Murtagh had a golden opportunity to extend the Bears' lead in the 78th minute after getting behind the Worcester defense but tapped the ball wide of the left post.
BSU freshman forward Jameson Bradley (Westborough, Mass.) sailed a shot over the crossbar in the 86th minute. Less than 30 seconds later, Bradley headed a pass over to Gomes who beat the Worcester keeper one-on-one and delivered a shot into a wide open net for his eighth goal of the season. Gomes finished with a goal and an assist in his first game back from injury.
Bridgewater held a 20-7 advantage in shots as well as a 12-2 edge in corner kicks attempts. The Bears defensive backfield of seniors Nicholas Keddie (Abington, Mass.) and Patrick Horgan (Plymouth, Mass.), junior Jonathan Pires (Medford, Mass.) and sophomore Owen Russell (Marshfield, Mass.) helped limit the Lancers to just three shots on goal.
BSU junior netminder Colin Jepson (Sandwich, Mass.) made three saves to record his school record-breaking 11th shutout of the season. Barrett turned aside six shots in the setback for the Lancers.
Worcester State will begin play of the MASCAC Tournament on Tuesday when they will face off against MCLA in a 1:30 p.m. for the quarterfinals in North Adams, Mass.