By Jim Fenton

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- The surprise team of the 2024 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference field hockey tournament was fifth-seeded Bridgewater State University.

After going 4-6 during the conference's regular season, the Bears won a pair of games and advanced to the MASCAC championship game, losing to Westfield State, 2-1.

One year later, in the midst of a record-breaking season, BSU is no longer cast in the role of underdog.

The Bears (15-4 overall) went 10-2 in the MASCAC to earn the No. 2 seed and will be hosting a conference tournament game for the first time since 2013 when they were in the Little East.

BSU plays a semifinal-round game on Thursday at 7 p.m. at Mazzaferro Field against fourth-seeded Worcester State University (8-11, 7-5 MASCAC). The Lancers advanced on Tuesday night with a 3-1 win over fifth-seeded Salem State Tuesday night.

The Bears will finish with a winning record for the first time since 2016 when they were 11-7. The 15 wins are the most by the program since 2013 when BSU had 16 victories.

BSU's 10 conference wins are the most since the Bears went 10-1 in the Little East in 2012.

After getting to the MASCAC final as the No. 5 seed, the Bears kept riding the momentum wave this fall.

"I knew we had the talent," said coach Ashley Bishop. "I don't think I had expected it to go this well, though. It was the chemistry that we had from being together last year that helped us."

BSU has set a program record by scoring 86 goals in 19 games, surpassing the previous mark of 82 established in 2012.

The Bears also have a program-record 57 assists, five more than the '12 team.

Sophomore Samantha Souza (Dartmouth, Mass.) and junior Abbie Zuber (Westport, Mass.) have set school records to lead the offense.

Souza has 33 goals, breaking the mark of 32 set in '12 by Shelby Farland. She has 73 points, just four shy of the mark held by Farland.

Souza ranks second among NCAA Division III players in goals, behind Grace Brazin of Keene State (36), and is second in points to Brazin, who has 80.

With half of her career remaining, Souza is fifth at BSU with 45 career goals and 99 points.

"It's an insane number of goals for anyone at any level to score," said Bishop. "For a player to be able to find a way to put the ball in the net that much is amazing.

"She works hard. She's not satisfied. She continues to work. I knew she was really, really good and she has had a great year."

Zuber broke the BSU record for career assists with 26. She is tied for second on the single-season list with 13 assists this year, is tied for fifth with 51 points this season, ranks eighth with 82 career points and 10th with 28 career goals.

This season, Zuber has 19 goals to go with the 13 assists. She is second to Souza in the MASCAC in both goals and points (51). Zuber is tied for sixth nationally in Division III with the 13 assists.

"She knows where Sam likes to get the ball, said Bishop. "Scoring-wise, the" numbers she put up, in any other year, she would be the offensive player of the year.

"Her numbers have been amazing, too. She is so unselfish and loves distributing the ball."

Sophomore Kallie Rose (Dartmouth, Mass.), who was a teammate of Souza and Zuber at Dartmouth High, is third on the team with 35 points (13 goals, nine assists).

Freshman Ellie Moberg (North Reading, Mass.) has nine goals and four assists while senior Raegen Perry (Nantucket, Mass.) has four goals and nine assists and junior Madison Ellis (Attleboro, Mass.) has chipped in with four goals and three assists.

Senior goalkeeper Brianna Gagnon (Tewksbury, Mass.) has a 1.61 goals against average and four shutouts.

With 15 wins, Gagnon is one shy of the school record held by Kacie Sturgeon since 2013.

"She didn't get the credit she deserves," said Bishop of Gagnon. "We're such a good offensive team, but defensively, after losing two significant backs, we knew it would be tough.

"Brianna keeps us competitive on the defensive end. She is unfazed back there."

BSU entered the season with holes to fill in front of Gagnon after the graduation of Noelle Cornetta and Charlotte McElroy, but the defensive backfield, led by senior Emelia Westwater (Attleboro, Mass.), has been solid. Westwater has a team-best five defensive saves while Ellis checks in with four. 

The Bears edged Thursday night's opponent, Worcester State, 3-2 and 5-4 in overtime, this fall. The OT win came last Saturday to finish the regular season.

The teams last met in the postseason in 2016 when BSU defeated the Lancers, 3-1, in the quarterfinal round of the Little East tourney.

For the first time in nine years, BSU gets to host a conference tourney game after earning the No. 2 seed.

"It's really great," said Bishop. "Travel is a grind with everything that goes with it. It'll be nice to be home with all our fans.

"The experience of last year's tournament will really help. Mentally, we are locked in. And the senior class was 2-15 as freshmen and now they have 15 wins. They have motivation to keep going."

The other semifinal-round matchup Thursday night pits Westfield State against sixth-seeded Framingham State, which upset third-seeded Fitchburg State, 2-1, in overtime.

The championship will be decided on Saturday at the highest remaining seed.