Falcons Upend Bridgewater State, 2-1
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Fitchburg St. (3-9-1, 1-4 MASCAC) | 2 | 0 | 2 |
|
Bridgewater St. (5-6-2, 2-2-1 MASCAC) | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Martinez collects three points for Falcons in key MASCAC victory
BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – Senior midfielder Steven Martinez registered a goal and an assist as the Fitchburg State men's soccer team defeated the Bears of Bridgewater State, 2-1 in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) action this evening at Swenson Field.
Fitchburg State opened the scoring at the 11:37 mark as freshman forward Matthew Krikorian collected a feed from Martinez and fired a shot into the back of the net for his team-leading fifth goal on the season for the 1-0 margin.
The Falcons doubled their lead with 20 minutes remaining in the first half when Martinez buried a shot inside the far post off a penalty kick for his first tally of the year to make the score 2-0 going into intermission.
Following the break, Bridgewater State cut the deficit in half (2-1) in the 70th minute of action as senior defender Jonathan Pires found the back of the net for his first marker of the season off an assist from sophomore forward Felipe Gomes.
The Bears threatened down the stretch with sophomore Kane Moran and classmate Michael Flaherty putting back-to-back shots on frame, but Falcon keeper Alex Al-Zaibak was up to the task, turning away both scoring chances, resulting in the 2-1 final.
Throughout the match, Bridgewater State held a 26-10 advantage in shots, while also holding a slim 5-3 margin in corner kicks. In net, Al-Zaibak stopped nine shots for the Green and Gold in 90 minutes of work, while senior Colin Jepson made four saves for the Bears in the complete game effort.
Fitchburg State (3-9-1, 1-4-0 MASCAC) returns to action on Wednesday as it hosts the Engineers of WPI for a contest starting at 4 p.m. Bridgewater State (5-6-2, 2-2-1 MASCAC) will travel to UMass Dartmouth on Tuesday for a 7 p.m. start.