By Jim Fenton
BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- The fall athletics season at Bridgewater State University lasted 86 days, beginning on Aug. 29 and concluding on Nov. 22.
Three teams won Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference championships and two advanced to the NCAA Division III tournament.
Senior cross country standout Naomi Cass (Westport, Mass.) capped her career in that sport with a third straight trip to the NCAA Championships after winning a third consecutive MASCAC title.
Records were broken, all-conference honors were received and the Bears had a successful start to the 2025-26 academic year. They lead the Smith Cup standings one-third of the way through.
Here's a team-by-team look at what went on during the fall season:
VOLLEYBALL
The Bears won their first MASCAC regular-season title since sharing it in 2008 and advanced to the NCAAs for the second straight year. BSU had not gone in back-to-back years since 2007-08.
The Bears went 17-5, including 8-0 in the MASCAC, and the season ended with a 3-0 loss to 14th-ranked and host Tufts University in the national tourney.
Junior Lily Welch (Hanson, Mass.) was the Most Valuable Player of the MASCAC tourney for a second year in a row and made the all-conference first team.
Teammate and classmate Ava Crane (Dartmouth, Mass.) joined Welch on the first team while sophomore Charlotte Sullivan (Hyannis, Mass.) made the second team.
BSU, which has won its last 18 of 19 MASCAC games including the tournament, returns all but three players in 2026.
MEN'S SOCCER
BSU won its third straight MASCAC regular-season title and second conference tourney crown in three seasons.
The Bears played in the NCAAs for the eighth time in program history, finishing 13-6-1 after going 6-1-1 in the MASCAC.
BSU defeated the Massachusetts Maritime Academy, 1-0, in the conference final and lost to Rowan of New Jersey, 1-0, in the NCAAs in Connecticut.
First-team all-conference honors went to junior Tyler Chang (Acushnet, Mass.), senior Filippo Mucci (Vineyard Haven, Mass.), junior Hector Bucio (Easton, Mass.) and senior Gavin Norton (Rockland, Mass.).
WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY
Cass became the lone BSU runner to reach three straight NCAA Cross Country Championships and finished 47th out of 290 in Spartanburg, S.C.
Cass' time was 22:08.8, and she was fourth at the NCAA East Region race.
Cass continued to dominate the MASCAC, winning by roughly 34 seconds in 17:59.71 to become a three-time champion. She was the conference Runner of the Year three straight years.
Joining Cass on the all-conference team was sophomore Rhiannon Vos (Marstons Mills, Mass.), who was ninth at the MASCAC race. Freshman Olivia Pendleton (Yarmouthport, Mass.) was the MASCAC Rookie of the Year after finishing 11th.
BSU placed second behind Westfield State in the MASCAC.
EQUESTRIAN
The Bears took part in five shows in October and November, including one that BSU hosted at the Dorbill Stables.
The best showing was a second-place finish at the Annabelle Meadows Farm and Equestrian Center in Westwood, Mass., a show hosted by Boston University and Tufts University.
Senior Emily Desmond (Braintree, Mass.) was first in intermediate fences while sophomore Julie Max (Salem, N.H.) was first in limit flat.
Desmond, junior Alyson McKeon (Worcester, Mass.) and senior Rianne Wyckstrom (Hudson, Mass.) have qualified for the IHSA Zone 1, Region 4 Championships. Desmond in limit over fences, McKeon in limit flat and Wyckstrom in intermediate over fences.
MEN'S CROSS COUNTRY
The Bears won their second straight MASCAC championship and fourth in the last six seasons.
Five BSU runners placed in the top 10 in the meet held in Westfield, Mass., led by senior Kyle Ackroyd (Charlestown, R.I.).
Ackroyd was second followed in third place by graduate student Kevin McBirney (East Bridgewater, Mass.).
Also in the top 10 were senior Mitchell Parent (Cumberland, Maine), who was sixth; freshman Tyler Amaral (Dartmouth, Mass.), who was seventh, and junior Aydan Fournier (Assonet, Mass.), who was 10th.
All five runners earned All-MASCAC honors.
Ackroyd also made the All-East Region team after placing 28th out of 216 runners, and the Bears finished 11th at the regional championship meet.
FIELD HOCKEY
BSU went 15-10 and was 10-2 in the MASCAC to earn the No. 2 seed in the tournament.
The Bears were stopped in the semifinal round with a 2-1 overtime loss to Worcester State.
Sophomore Samantha Souza (Dartmouth, Mass.) was the MASCAC Offensive Player of the Year after a record-breaking season.
Souza led the conference with 33 goals and 73 points and ranked second in the nation in Division III in goals.
She broke the BSU record of 32 goals established in 2012 by Shelby Farland and had the second-most points.
Junior Abbie Zuber (Westport, Mass.) set the program record for assists in a career with 26, finishing the season with 20 goals and 13 assists.
Souza and Zuber made the All-MASCAC first team along with senior Emelia Westwater (Attleboro, Mass.) while junior Kallie Rose (Dartmouth, Mass.) was on the second team.
WOMEN'S TENNIS
The Bears (9-5) were the No. 2 seed in the Little East Conference, going 7-1. BSU was edged by UMass Boston, 4-3, in the semifinal round.
The Bears put together a seven-match winning streak heading into the postseason.
Sophomore Aislyn Kelliher (Plymouth, Mass.) made the all-conference first team in singles and the sescond team in doubles.
Sophomore Morgan Smith (Taunton, Mass.) was on the second team in singles and joined Kelliher on the second team in doubles.
Senior captain Hannah Higgins (Rockland, Mass.) made the All-Little East Sportsmanship Team.
Sophomore Ava Alves (Taunton, Mass.), in her first collegiate season, went 12-1 and led the team in wins.
WOMEN'S SOCCER
The defending MASCAC champions went 5-1-2 in the conference and were the No. 3 seed.
BSU (5-8-5) defeated Fitchburg State, 1-0, in double overtime and lost to Westfield State, 2-0, in the tournament.
Senior Olivia Robarge (Pepperell, Mass.) was the MASCAC Offensive Player of the Year after scoring eight goals and 18 points.
Robarge, junior Nina DiRusso (Braintree, Mass.) and sophomore Hope Montgomery (Abington, Mass.) made the all-conference first team.
Senior Logan Levesque (Bristol, R.I.), senior Jenna Sweeney (Wilmington, Mass.) and junior Caroline McCormack (East Bridgewater, Mass.) made the second team.
Levesque, who made the All-MASCAC team four straight years, holds BSU records for shutouts with 25, games played by a goalkeeper with 67 and minutes played by a goalkeeper with 5973:40.
Robarge, a three-time All-MASCAC selection, finished her career seventh on the Bears' all-time scoring list with 68 points and tied for sixth in goals (30).
FOOTBALL
BSU got off to a 1-4 start but turned things around following a bye week. The Bears had a four-game winning streak and finished 5-5, 5-4 in the MASCAC.
BSU defeated teams ahead of it in the standings, including UMass Dartmouth and Anna Maria, and lost to the MASCAC representative in the NCAA tourney, Framingham State, 46-40, in overtime.
Senior Joey Naso (Hopewell Junction, N.Y.) made the All-MASCAC first team for the third year in a row. He set school records for most point-after conversion kicks in a career, best PAT percentage and most points for a kicker.
Naso led the MASCAC in points and PAT conversion percentage and was second in field goals and field goals percentage.
He was 36 of 38 in PATs this season and made 8 of 11 field goals.
Junior Jorge Aquino (Bergenfield, N.J.) was also on the first team after topping the MASCAC with nine quarterback sacks.
Second-team honors went to seniors Jonah Familia (Worcester, Mass.), Mark DeGirolamo (Mansfield, Mass.), Matthew Leofanti (Franklin, Mass.), Mohale Mitchell (Lakewood, Col.) and Andrew Cloutman (Hanson, Mass.) plus sophomore Philip D'Alleva (Peabody, Mass.).