Men's Soccer Blanks Fitchburg State, 2-0

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – Forwards Adam Smith (Sr., Kingston, Mass.) and Simao Mendes (Jr., Brockton, Mass.) both scored, and junior goaltender Joe Parsons (Springfield, Mass.) turned aside three shots, to lead the Bridgewater State men's soccer team to a 2-0 shutout of MASCAC foe Fitchburg State on Saturday afternoon at Swenson Field.

The win lifts the host Bears to 3-3-1 on the season and 1-0-1 in the MASCAC.  The Falcons slip to 0-8 overall and 0-2 in conference play.

Smith got the Bears on the board in the 35th minute after an outstanding individual effort by senior forward Conor Kelly (Braintree, Mass.).  Kelley dribbled around two Fitchburg defenders and was able to find a wide-open Smith to the left of the goal.  Smith easily buried a shot past the Falcon netminder and inside the far post.

Mendes tallied a big insurance marker in the 76th minute as he converted a penalty kick after being taken down inside the box.

Parsons was forced to make just the three saves on the afternoon but two of them were impressive.  In the 41st minutes, Parsons robbed Fitchburg's Chris Kleindl (Tokyo, Japan) on a breakaway attempt.  Kleindl also had a chance on the rebound but was stopped by BSU freshman defender Kyle Gordon (Uxbridge, Mass.).  In the second half, Parsons made a diving stop of blistering shot by Kleindl from the top of the box to keep his third shutout of the season intact.

Bridgewater held a 16-7 shot advantage for the game as well as a 5-3 edge in corner kicks.

The Bears will travel to Lasell College on Wednesday afternoon for a four o'clock game with the Lasers.  Fitchburg hosts Becker College on Tuesday afternoon also at four.