Men's Soccer Falls to Mass. Maritime, 2-1

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – The visiting Massachusetts Maritime Academy men's soccer team spoiled Bridgewater State's Senior Day festivities as the Buccaneers downed the Bears, 2-1, in a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) match on Saturday afternoon at Swenson Field.

With the win, Mass. Maritime improves to 5-11 on the season and 2-4 in the MASCAC.  The Buccaneers snapped a 19-game winless streak against the Bears as they had not defeated Bridgewater since 1991 (1-0).  Bridgewater falls to 10-4 overall and 4-2 in conference play with the loss as the Bears see their hopes of winning their second straight MASCAC regular season title take a big hit.

Mass. Maritime began the scoring in the 38th minute as senior midfielder Andrew Mullen (Bridgewater, Mass.) beat a Bridgewater defender and slid the ball behind the BSU netminder. Classmate Brian Reske (Duxbury, Mass.) tapped the ball into an open net making the score 1-0 in favor of the Buccaneers.

Sophomore forward Derek Young (Falmouth, Mass.) gave the visitors a 2-0 advantage just over two minutes into the second half.  Junior midfielder Dennis Doherty (West Falmouth, Mass.) set up the goal as he chipped the ball ahead to an open Young who half-volleyed a shot past a drawn out Bridgewater keeper.

Bridgewater's only score came with just 23 second left to play as junior forward Mike Fraser (Marshfield, Mass.) headed a pass from senior defender Mark Vercollone (Pembroke, Mass.) into the wide-open right side of the net

The Bears best scoring opportunity in the first half came in the 15th minute off a corner kick, but sophomore forward Matt Palatino's (Ludlow, Mass.) shot was kicked out by MMA sophomore midfielder Tim McDonough (Framingham, Mass.).

Freshman goaltender Brett Young (Falmouth, Mass.) made seven saves between the pipes for Buccaneers who were outshot by the host Bears by a margin of 17-12.  Bridgewater State junior DJ Siewierski (Stow, Mass.) turned aside three shots for the Bears.

Bridgewater will travel to UMass Dartmouth on Tuesday afternoon for a 3:30 match with the Corsairs.  Mass. Maritime hosts UMass Boston on Wednesday night at seven.