By Scott Roche, The Enterprise (Brockton)
BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- The Bridgewater State University men’s and women’s soccer teams will begin their quests for an NCAA Division 3 championship this weekend.
The men will begin their quest against a familiar foe when the Bears travel to Amherst on Saturday afternoon at 1:30 to take on the unbeaten Lord Jeffs, a team BSU had played the last five years in a non-conference action.
The women will travel to Vermont to take on Middlebury College on Saturday at 11 a.m. This will be the first time in program history that the Lady Bears will play the Lady Panthers.
For the men, who captured the MASCAC Tournament Championship and automatic NCAA berth with a 1-0 victory over Worcester State University last Sunday, despite playing a familiar foe, some of the faces will be different as the Lord Jeffs graduated a lot of players from last season’s team.
“We have an idea of what type of formation we will see from Amherst,’’ said BSU coach Brendan Adams. “We know what type of system they play, but there will be a lot of different faces from a turnover they had from last year.
“It’s going to be a challenge for us because we know they are a very good team. We have played them five times in the last five years and have yet to beat them. But in the game of soccer you have a chance. We have played teams this year where we have been the better team and lost. Anything can happen on any day.’’
The Bears have made a few changes, including moving Abington resident and Cardinal Spellman graduate Nicholas Keddie, a sophomore defender, to midfield. Senior All-MASCAC selection and Oliver Ames graduate Luke Scamperi anchors the BSU defense in front of senior keeper Matt Bagley (nine shutouts with a 0.90 GAA). Bagley recorded three of his nine shutouts this year in the MASCAC tournament.
Offensively, sophomore Conor Murtagh, who was voted MVP of the MASCAC tournament, scored four goals this year, including two game-winners in the MASCAC tournament. Senior Craig Shadduck and senior Colin Neri are tied for the team lead in scoring with six goals and one assist each.
Adams believes that if the Bears (10-7-3) are going to be able to win and advance to the second round on Sunday, they will have to be strong defensively against an Amherst (15-0-2) team that has outshot opponents by a margin of 336-124 in 17 games.
“We have to play solid defense,’’ Adams said. “We can’t afford any breakdowns. We also have to be tough in the air, go up strong for balls and challenge them in the air. We also need to do a good job of winning the second ball.
“I told the guys that we belong in the tournament. We played five teams in non-conference games this year that are in the NCAAs. We were ahead of Gordon and led both Eastern Connecticut State and Roger Williams in the second half. I think we will hold our own against a good Amherst team.’’
The winner of Saturday’s game will play the winner of the Gordon College (18-2) and Eastern Connecticut State University (10-7-3) game on Sunday at 1 p.m. in the second round in Amherst.
An Unknown Foe
The BSU women will take their 9-8-2 record to Middlebury to face the 13-1-2 Lady Panthers, a team that Lady Bears know little about.
“I do know they play smart soccer and make very few mistakes from the few reports I have about them,’’ said BSU women’s coach Lou Verrochi, who saw his team grab its first NCAA berth in 10 years with a 3-1 win over Worcester State University in the MASCAC Tournament Championship game on Sunday. “They are very organized and very well coached. They have great soccer IQ and play a very smart possession game along the ground.
“They have a midfielder (Julia Favorito) that almost everything goes through and their forward (Scarlett Kirk) is a good finisher around the net. This is a huge task for us, but our girls are ready for the challenge.’’
Bridgewater State brings its own offensive firepower in senior forward Erica Jonasson, who has tallied 16 goals, and sophomore forward Mackenzie Hatfield, who has nine goals and 10 assists.
“Erica has done a real nice job finishing when she has had the opportunity around the net,’’ said Verrochi. “She has been on the receiving end of Hatfield, who does a nice job of breaking down the other team’s defense.’’
Verrochi knows that during the tournament, anybody can beat anyone.
“You never know when you will get the chance again (to play in the NCAA tournament),’’ Verrochi said. “We have to play flawless soccer. We might be the bigger and stronger team and will have to assert that as the game goes along. We can’t go up there with the mindset that we are playing just one game. We want to play two and I have been stressing to the girls all week that in the game of soccer, you never know what’s going to happen.’’
The winner of Saturday’s game will play the winner of the other game Saturday between the University of Scranton (15-2-3) and Endicott College (15-5-2) in the second round on Sunday in Vermont at 1:30 p.m.