Men's Soccer Battles Fitchburg State to 1-1 Draw

FITCHBURG, Mass. – The visiting Bridgewater State University men's soccer team played to a 1-1 draw with Fitchburg State University on Friday evening in a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) matchup at Elliot Field.

The Bears see their record go to 3-1-3 on the season and 1-0-1 in the MASCAC with the tie, while the Falcons are now 2-5-1 overall and 0-1-1 in conference play. This evening's contest marked the 53rd meeting between the two teams since 1978 with Bridgewater State holding a 26-14-7 edge in the all-time series.

A diving header by freshman midfielder Dante Ramadan (West Boylston, Mass.) from just outside the six off a cross from sophomore defender Zachariah Foster (Brockton, Mass.) in the 31st minute gave the Falcons the 1-0 lead. The goal came following a corner kick that the Bears were able to clear out of the box. Foster tracked down the loose ball on the left side, turned and sent the cross to Ramadan who buried the header just inside the near post.

Fitchburg held on to the 1-0 lead until the 75th minute of play.

The Bears were awarded a penalty kick with 15:50 left to play in the contest after the Falcons were whistled for a hand ball in the box. BSU junior midfielder Nicolas Matias (Framingham, Mass.) buried the PK into the right side of the cage to knot the score at 1-1.

The Bears held a 15-11 shot advantage for the game while the Falcons finished with a 5-3 edge in corner kick attempts.

Junior netminder Luke Speers (Collegeville, Pa.) turned aside six shots between the pipes for host Fitchburg State. Graduate goalkeeper William Russell (Sandwich, Mass.) made two saves in goal for the visitors.

Both teams are back in action on Tuesday night at seven o'clock. The Bears travel to Roger Williams University to take on the Hawks while the Falcons head to the University of New England to face the Nor'easters.