Fitchburg State Falls To Bridgewater State, 2-0

Hanratty stops six shots in Falcons second conference loss of the season

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. (September 24, 2011) – Senior forwards Adam Smith (Kingston, Mass.) and Simao Mendes (Brockton, Mass.) collected one goal apiece as the Bridgewater State men's soccer team blanked Fitchburg State University, 2-0 in MASCAC action this afternoon.

The win lifts the host Bears to 3-3-1 on the season and 1-0-1 in the MASCAC, while the Falcons slip to 0-8 overall and 0-2 in conference play.

Smith got the Bears on the board in the 35th minute after a strong individual effort by senior forward Conor Kelly (Braintree, Mass.). Kelley dribbled around two Fitchburg State defenders and was able to find a wide-open Smith to the left of the goal. Smith easily buried a shot past the Falcon net-minder, using the inside, far post.

Mendes tallied a big insurance marker in the 76th minute as he converted a penalty kick after being taken down inside the box.

Junior goaltender Joe Parsons (Springfield, Mass.) turned aside three shots on the afternoon, robbing a pair of strikes from sophomore Chris Kleindl's (Tokyo, Japan). In the first half, Parson stabbed a Kleindl breakaway attempt, while making a diving stop on Kleindl blast from the top of the box. Freshman Aidan Hanratty (East Bridgewater, Mass./East Bridgewater) stopped six shots for the Falcons.

Fitchburg State (0-8-0, 0-2-0 MASCAC) will be back in action on Tuesday as it hosts Becker College at 4 p.m. Bridgewater State (3-3-1, 1-0-1 MASCAC) will travel to Lasell College on Wednesday afternoon at 4 p.m.