Falcons Nipped By Bears, 2-1 In MASCAC Quarterfinal

Gough registers 19 saves for Green and Gold

Bridgewater, Mass. – The sixth seed Falcons of Fitchburg State dropped a 2-1 decision to the third seeded Bears of Bridgewater State in quarterfinal round action of the 2021 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) Women's Soccer post-season tournament this evening at Swenson Field.

The Basics

Score: Fitchburg State 1, Bridgewater State 2

Records: Fitchburg State (2-14-1, 2-4-1 MASCAC) | Bridgewater State (9-7-1, 5-1-1 MASCAC)

How It Happened

Bridgewater State opened the scoring at the 28:38 mark as senior Delaney Langton (Scituate, R.I.) collected a feed from sophomore Megan Keller (Northborough, Mass.) and found the back of the net for her eighth goal of the season for the 1-0 advantage.

The Bears doubled their lead in the 33rd minute of action with senior Madelyn Morin (East Longmeadow, Mass.) netting her sixth score of the 2021 campaign off an assist from junior Michelle Belcher (Norton, Mass.) to make the score 2-0 going into the break.

Following the intermission, Fitchburg State nearly dented the score board midway through the second stanza when junior Patricia Pallotta (Sterling, Mass.) notched back-to-back shots on frame, but Bridgewater State keeper Tory Viola-Laughery (Brockton, Mass.) turned away both shots to preserve the 2-0 lead.

The Falcons broke through at the 87{14 mark with graduate student Shannon McCarthy (Chicopee, Mass.) converted a penalty kick, depositing the ball inside the near post for her team-leading sixth mark on the year to cut the lead to 2-1, but the Bears would hold off Fitchburg State over the final three minutes for the victory.

Inside the Numbers

This afternoon's contest marked the 30th meeting between the two schools on the pitch with the Falcons 3-25-2 all-time when taking on the Bears

Bridgewater State has won the last ten contests against Fitchburg State, including a 6-0 decision earlier this season at Swenson Field.

Bridgewater State held a 40-8 margin in shots, while also finishing with a 5-3 edge in corner kicks

Junior Allison Gough (Wolcott, Conn.) stopped 19 shots for the Falcons

Viola-Laughery made five saves for the Bears

Up Next

Falcons wrap up their 2021 season this evening. Bears will travel to Worcester State on Friday in semifinal round action at 6:00 PM.