Falcons edged by Buccaneers, 1-0

Al-Zaibak stops nine shots for Fitchburg State in conference setback  

Fitchburg, Mass. – The Fitchburg State University men's soccer team suffered a tough 1-0 setback to the Buccaneers of Massachusetts Maritime Academy in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) action this afternoon at Elliot Field.

The Basics

Score: Fitchburg State 0, Mass. Maritime 1

Records: Fitchburg State (2-2-0, 0-1-0 MASCAC) | Mass. Maritime (2-3-0, 1-0-0 MASCAC)

How It Happened

Mass. Maritime took the lead in the 36th minute of play as sophomore forward Andrew Wayrynen (Rockport, Mass./Rockport) gathered a feed from senior Mick Rouette (Three Rivers, Mass./Monson) and blasted a shot into the left side of the net for his first tally on the year for the 1-0 advantage.

In the second half, the Buccaneers nearly doubled their advantage just two minutes into the frame when junior midfielder Brendan Gawron (Braintree, Mass./Braintree) put a shot on net, but Falcon defender Camden McLaughlin (West Chesterfield, N.H./Keene) cleared the ball off the goal line to keep the score at 1-0.

Fitchburg State's best scoring opportunity occurred in the 59th minute of play as senior Jefferson Acha (Lynn, Mass./Lynn English) and classmate Ibrahima Male (Providence, R.I./CCRI) put back-to-back shots on frame, but Buccaneer keeper Mike Pruchnik (Rochester, Mass./Old Rochester) turned away both shots to preserve the 1-0 victory for the visitors.

Inside the Numbers

41st meeting between Fitchburg State and Mass. Maritime on the pitch with the Falcons 23-11-7 overall when taking on the Buccaneers.

Falcons have won three of the last five contests against Mass. Maritime.

Mass. Maritime held a 19-10 margin in shots, while Fitchburg State finished with a slim 5-4 edge in corner kicks.

In goal, senior Alex Al-Zaibak (Hingham, Mass./Bridgewater-Raynham) stopped nine shots for the Falcons, while Pruchnik made four saves for Buccaneers, en-route to his second win on the year.

Up Next

The Falcons will host the Raiders of Rivier University on Wednesday for a contest starting at 7 p.m. Mass. Maritime will visit Brandeis on Tuesday for a match up starting at 7 p.m.