NORTH ADAMS, Mass. -- Senior forward Conor Murtagh (Walpole, Mass.) netted the game's only goal in the tenth minute to lift the Bridgewater State University men's soccer team to a 1-0 victory over MLCA in a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) opener for both teams on Saturday afternoon at Shewcraft Field.

The visiting Bears improve to 5-1 (1-0 MASCAC) with their fifth straight win, while the Trailblazers slip to 0-3-2 overall (0-1 MASCAC).

Junior goaltender Colin Jepson (Sandwich, Mass.) made five saves to record his third shutout of the season and tenth of his career. Jespson was helped out by teammate who cleared one off the line in the 82nd minute to preserve the shutout.

Senior forward Andrew Chenard (Kingston, Mass.) and freshman forward Filipes Gomes (Boston, Mass.) assisted on the Murtagh tally. Following a save, Jepson punted out to Gomes who corralled the ball near midfield and fed Chenard streaking down the right flank. Chenard slipped a through ball past the MCLA defense and Murtagh was in all alone. The senior easily beat MCLA sophomore netminder Kamron Anderson (Springfield, Mass.) giving the Bears a 1-0 advantage.

Both teams had scoring chances during the remainder of the half.  Bridgewater held a slim 9-8 shot advantage, but each team had some shots from inside the box.  MCLA had a great chance to score early on when junior forward Dylan Pereira (Ludlow, Mass.) found a loose ball deep in the box, but Jepsen was there to keep the Trailblazers off the board.

In the closing half, MCLA had chances to tie the game, while Bridgewater missed opportunities to stretch the lead.  Trailblazers Pereira and junior forward Anthony Basile (East Longmeadow, Mass.) ripped shots at Jepson over the closing period, but the senior stopped them all.  Murtagh had a one-on-one chance against Anderson, but the MCLA keeper took away the angle keeping the score at 1-0 in favor of the Bears.

Bridgewater maintained possession over the final five minutes and effectively held on for the win.

Gomes and Murtagh were a challenge all afternoon as they collected 9 shots between them.

Anderson made a game high 12 saves for MCLA in defeat.

For the afternoon, the Bears held a 23-15 shot advantage, including a 14-7 mark over the closing half.  BSU also had five corners to MCLA's one.

The schedule continues for the Bears on Wednesday night when they travel to Clark University for a seven o'clock game with the Cougars. MCLA is back in action on Tuesday afternoon at 3:30 when they travel to Skidmore.

Notes: Murtagh now has 19 goals, including nine-game winners, and 42 points in 45 career games at BSU.