WESTFIELD, Mass. -- Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) Player of the Year Conor Murtagh (Walpole, Mass.) tallied a goal and an assist to the lead the fifth-seeded Bridgewater State University men's soccer team to a 2-0 shutout victory over top-seeded Westfield State University in a MASCAC Tournament semifinal round game on Friday evening at Alumni Field.
With the win, Bridgewater State advances to the MASCAC championship game for the third straight season and seventh time in program history. The Bears will travel to No. 2 seed Framingham State University on Sunday at noon. Framingham defeated Worcester State University, 1-0, in the other semifinal matchup on a penalty kick goal in the 77th minute.
Murtagh, who leads the MASCAC in goals and points this season, helped break a scoreless tie with an assist in the 75th minute. The senior forward sped down the left sideline, burst through the Owls back line and into the box, luring sophomore goalkeeper Alex Kraver (West Springfield, Mass.) out of the goal area before feeding senior forward Andrew Chenard (Kingston, Mass.) for an easy goal.
Less than a minute later, the 6-foot-3 Murtagh headed home a perfectly-placed, 35-yard free kick from junior defender Jonathan Pires (Medford, Mass.), out-leaping the Owls defenders to give the Bears a 2-0 lead and send his team to the championship match.
With his three points, Murtagh moved into fifth place on the Bears' all-time scoring list. Murtagh now has 67 points (29G, 9A) in four seasons at BSU.
Before Murtagh broke open the game, the two teams were engaged in a physical, back-and-forth contest. Bridgewater State outshot Westfield State 25-11, but just 10-7 in the second half.
In the early going, the Owls struggled to contain the speed and creative ball-handling of freshman forward Filipe Gomes (Boston, Mass.) and Murtagh's size in the box, but Kraver was able to keep the Bears off the scoreboard.
Kraver made eight saves in the match, including six in the first half.
Westfield State had a few chances to strike first midway through the second half, but couldn't beat BSU junior goalkeeper Colin Jepson (Sandwich, Mass.).
With 24 minutes remaining, Owls junior midfielder Joe Pantuosco (Somers, Conn.) found senior forward Kevin Bengle (West Springfield, Mass.) in open space in the box off a corner kick, but Bengle's bicycle kick drifted wide of the net.
Jepson made three saves to record his 12th shutout of the season and school record 16th win.
Westfield State finishes the season 6-10-1. The Owls were shut out twice by the Bears at home in a span of 14 days.
Bridgewater State improves to 16-3-1 overall as the Bears set the program single-season record for wins, breaking the previous standard of 15 set in 1990 and equaled in 1993.