Fitchburg State Holds Down Mass-Maritime, 3-2

Falcons earn first conference victory of the season behind Ventura's two scores

FITCHBURG, Mass. (October 8, 2011) – Senior Lionso Ventura (Westminster, Mass./Oakmont ) registered a pair of goals as the Fitchburg State men's soccer team collected a 3-2 MASCAC victory over Mass-Maritime Academy this afternoon.

With the victory, Fitchburg State earns its first conference victory, recording an overall record of 2-9-1 and a 1-3-0 mark in the MASCAC, while Mass-Maritime falls to 1-8 on the season and 1-3 in the conference.

Ventura scored all his goals in the first ten minutes of the match, as the senior forward collected his fourth and fifth tallies of the season. Ventura put Fitchburg State on the board early, notching a marker in the sixth minute of the match from Jason Pereira's (Wilmington, Mass./Wilmington) dish, before teaming up with classmate Kevin Mascary (N. Easton, Mass./Oliver Ames) on a one-time header for the second score of the contest.

Senior Danny Bolam (Fletcher, Vt./BFA Airfax) closed out the first half scoring with what proved to be the game-winning marker in the 36th minute. Bolam raced down the left-sideline taking a Brian Bettencourt (Norton, Mass./Norton) feed, beat a pair of Buccaneer defenders and placed the ball to the top right of the net for his second goal of the season.

In the second half, Mass-Maritime turned the game's momentum in its favor, scoring a pair of goals in the first ten minutes of the frame to cut its deficit to 3-2. Senior captain Mike McCarthy (Norwell, Mass./Norwell) got the Bucs on the board first with his first goal of the season just inside the 52nd minute, while classmate Ryan Fischer (Marshfield, Mass./Marshfield) converted a penalty kick for his first tally of the year just 3:29 later.

Fitchburg State was hampered by 14 off-sides calls throughout the match, leading to a 25-12 advantage in shots for Mass-Maritime. The Bucs also registered a 9-1 advantage in corners but freshman Aidan Hanratty (E. Bridgweater, Mass./E. Bridgewater) put up eight saves, including five in the second half, to preserve the Falcons second victory of the year.

Junior Patrick Staley (Northbridge, Mass./Bellingham) started the contest for the Bucs, totaling four saves over the first 45 minutes, while senior Brett Young (Falmouth, Mass./Falmouth) was untested in the final 45 minutes of work.

Fitchburg State (2-9-1, 1-3-0 MASCAC) will be back in action on Wednesday as it travels to Rivier College at 7 p.m. Mass-Maritime (1-8, 1-3 MASCAC) will visit UMass Dartmouth on Thursday at 7 p.m.