Women's Soccer Opens MASCAC Slate with 7-0 Shutout of Anna Maria

By Jim Fenton

PAXTON, Mass. -- The Bridgewater State University women's soccer team earned its first victory of the season in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference opener.

After dropping two non-conference games, the Bears defeated Anna Maria College, 7-0, on Saturday afternoon in the AMCATS' first-ever MASCAC game.

BSU scored three first-half goals and added four more in the second while senior goalkeeper Logan Levesque (Bristol, R.I.) recorded the shutout at Caparso Field.

The Bears (1-2) are now 16-0-1 in their last 17 MASCAC regular-season games dating back to an Oct. 15, 2023 loss at Westfield State University.

Seniors Olivia Robarge (Pepperell, Mass.) and Abigail Shea (Somerset, Mass.) scored a pair of goals each while junior Caroline McCormack (East Bridgewater, Mass.) added a goal and two assists.

BSU won the past two MASCAC regular-season championships, going 13-0-1.

The victory was the 99th for BSU head coach Yasmina Carvalho, who is the program's all-time leader.

Robarge gave the Bears a 1-0 lead 16:05 into the game, assisted by McCormack. Robarge's shot from just inside the 18 deflected off the goalkeeper's hand and went into the left side of the net.

At 20:59, junior Natalie Mattos (Fairhaven, Mass.) scored from McCormack, who sent a crossing pass from the right side of the 18 that eluded the goalkeeper and a defender. Mattos was able to tap the ball into a wide-open net.

McCormack made it 3-0 at 43:49 as she tucked a shot into the top left corner of the net from 36 yards out.

The Bears took a 4-0 lead at 48:10 when junior Yessica Duran (Gardner, Mass.) scored from senior Jenna Sweeney (Wilmington, Mass.).

A thru-ball by Sweeney set up Duran, who beat the keeper with a shot inside the right post.

Robarge, who had seven shots on goal, scored her second goal at 79:05 for a 5-0 lead. She moved around two defenders on the right side and fired a tough angle shot inside the far post.

Shea scored her two goals in a span of 2:24 to close out the scoring.

At 80:02, Shea took a loose ball and tapped it into an empty net. She followed that at 82:26 by scoring off a corner kick, firing a shot from the top of the 18 into the left side of the cage.

Levesque made one save for the shutout as the Bears held a 21-1 edge in shots on goal and a 36-1 advantage in shots. Levesque now has 19 shutouts for her career.

Junior goalkeeper Kortney Clark (Schenectady, N.Y.) played 52:44 and made seven saves for the AMCATS while freshman Brooke Austin (Barre, Mass.) had six saves in 37:16.

BSU has a non-conference matchup on Wednesday when it travels to Norton to play Wheaton College at 4 p.m.

Anna Maria (0-4) hosts Simmons on Wednesday at 6 p.m.