MCLA Rallies Past Fitchburg State, 2-1

Wansi registers lone goal for Falcons in MASCAC setback

NORTH. ADAMS, Mass. –The MCLA Men's Soccer rallied from a halftime deficit to defeat the visiting Fitchburg State Falcons 2-1 this afternoon at Shewcraft Field to earn a key MASCAC victory and clinched a playoff berth in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) action.

With the win, MCLA improves to 4-8-2 overall and stands at 3-3 in league play, while the Falcons drop to 5-10 overall and are 1-5 in league play.

Fitchburg State opened the scoring at the 27:10 mark as senior Franck Wansi settled a corner kick of the foot of classmate Steven Martinez and buried a shot into the back of net for his second goal of the season for the 1-0 lead going into intermission.

Following the break, MCLA knotted the score (1-1) when senior Ryan Baker tallied his first goal of the season in the 49th minute as Baker collected a loose ball and headed it into the back of net.

In the 84th minute, the Trailblazer netted the eventual game winner as Anthony Basile took control of the ball around midfield and slid a through ball perfectly to a streaking Dylan Pereira towards the left post, depositing the ball inside far post for his fifth tally on the season to make the score 2-1. 

The Green and Gold had a few chances down the stretch, however they couldn't get the equalizer as MCLA keeper Kamron Anderson made three saves in the closing minutes, resulting in the 2-1 final.

For the match, Fitchburg State outshot MCLA by a 21-16 margin, while the Trailblazers held a narrow 7-5 advantage in corner kicks. In between the pipes, Anderson stopped 8 shots for MCLA to record his fourth win of the season, while sophomore Alex Al-Zaibak collected 7 saves for the Falcons in the complete game effort

Prior to kickoff, MCLA honored the four seniors playing their final home match, with those senior being Baker, Vona, Sean Kenney, and Edgar Asamoah.

Fitchburg State (5-10-0, 1-5-0 MASCAC) will be back in action on Tuesday as it visits Springfield College at 5 p.m. MCLA (4-8-2, 3-3-0 MASCAC) will travel to Albertus Magnus on Tuesday for a contest starting at 3 p.m.

Portions of release courtesy of MCLA SID office

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