Fitchburg State Defeated By Worcester State, 4-2

Krikorian and Martinez collect one goal each for Falcons in MASCAC championship game

WORCESTER, Mass. – The Fitchburg State men's soccer team dropped a 4-2 decision to the Lancers of Worcester State in the 2016 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) Men's Soccer post-season tournament championship game this afternoon at Coughlin Field.

With the win, Worcester State (12-6-0, 5-2-0 MASCAC) claims its first MASCAC men's soccer tournament crown since 2005 and awaits its seeding in the 2016 NCAA Division III Men's Soccer tournament, while Fitchburg State concludes its 2016 season with an overall record of 7-12-1 and 3-4 in conference play.

Worcester State opened the scoring just 4:35 into the first half as junior forward Andre Ipojuca headed a corner kick off the foot of senior midfielder George Siotis into the back of net for his fourth goal on the season for the 1-0 lead.

Fitchburg State knotted the score (1-1) roughly four minutes later when freshman forward Matthew Krikorian collected a through ball from sophomore Marckdonard Bastien and deposited the ball into the lower right corner for his team leading 11th marker on the year.

The Lancers regained the lead midway through the frame as senior midfielder Tyler Church headed home a throw in by junior defender Matthew Dent into the upper right corner for his first goal of 2016 campaign to make the score 2-1.

The hosts upped its lead at the 34:21 mark when freshman midfielder Mitzschael Myrthil settled a loose ball in front of the net and blasted a shot into lower right corner for his third tally on the season for the 3-1 advantage going into the break.

Following the intermission, Worcester State pushed its lead to 4-1 in the 49th minute of play as sophomore forward Bryan Basil redirected a header from Ipojuca into the back of net for his team-leading 11th goal of the season.

The Green and Gold cut into the deficit with just over two minutes left in the contest when senior midfielder Steven Martinez tucked the ball inside the near post off a corner kick for his second score on the year, resulting in the 4-2 final.

Throughout the game, Worcester State held a 14-10 advantage in shots, while also holding a slim 4-3 margin in corner kicks. In between the pipes, junior Alex Al-Zaibak turned aside six shots for the Falcons in the complete game effort, while junior Jason Barrett made two saves in 90 minutes of work.