By Kent Cherrington, Plymouth State SID

PLYMOUTH, N.H. – Bridgewater State University scored three unanswered goals over a 20-minute span Saturday afternoon and went on to defeat Plymouth State University, 4-2, in a non-conference men's soccer match at Panther Field.

The three-goal outburst game the visitors a 3-1 lead with 35 minutes remaining.  PSU cut the deficit to 3-2 in the 78th minute, but the Bears added an insurance marker with less than five minutes to play.  BSU improves to 3-0-0 on the season, while PSU drops to 1-2-1.

Bridgewater State, which was the preseason favorite to win the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference, got goals from four different players.  Freshman David Wilson (Chalton, Mass.) and junior Mike Fraser (Marshfield, Mass.) tallied goals in the final 10 minutes of the first half, turning a 1-0 PSU lead into a 2-1 BSU advantage, and sophomore Simao Mendes (Brockton, Mass.) opened the second-half scoring in the 54th minute to make it 3-1.   Junior Jose Depina (Boston, Mass.) added the insurance goal for the winners.

Freshman Anders Olsson (Sturefors, Sweden) had a part of both Panther goals.  He assisted on the first goal of the game by freshman Moses Igah (Abuja, Nigeria) in the 14th minute, and he scored the second Panther goal on a penalty kick with 12 minutes left in regulation.

Shots on goal ended up tied at 7-7 in the first half and 14-apiece for the game.  PSU had a 4-0 advantage in corner kicks.

Sophomore keeper Patrick Bowlby (Stoughton, Mass.) earned the victory, making three saves for the Bears, while sophomore Bjorn Ohlsson (Halmstad, Sweden) finished with six saves for the home team.

PSU plays its third straight home game next Saturday, Sept. 18, against rival Keene State College (1:00 p.m.)  BSU puts its unbeaten record on the line Thursday at home against Johnson & Wales (7:00 p.m.)