By Jim Fenton
WESTFIELD, Mass. -- The Bridgewater State University men's soccer team won its third straight game on Saturday.
Freshman Cameron Walty (Weymouth, Mass.) scored the lone goal and junior Kyle Sullivan (Enfield, Conn.) recorded a shutout as the Bears edged Westfield State University, 1-0, at Alumni Field.
BSU (5-4) improved to 3-1 in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference while the Owls fell to 5-2-1, 1-1-1 in the conference.
Westfield State had won all three of its home games before losing to the Bears.
Since losing three straight games, BSU has defeated the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, Emerson and Westfield State, the last two by shutout.
BSU has gone just over 211 minutes without allowing a goal in the second half against MCLA.
Walty provided all the offense that would be needed, scoring an unassisted goal at 36:24.
Walty dribbled in from the left side from about 45 yards out, cut towards the middle and beat a pair of Westfield State defenders. He then fired a shot from the top of the 18 that went inside the left post.
Sullivan also recorded shutouts against Anna Maria and Emerson.
The transfer student stopped three shots. The Bears had a 20-5 edge in overall shots and 8-3 in shots on goal.
Westfield State junior Luke Theroux (Chicopee, Mass.) was the starting goalkeeper and made one save in the first half. Sophomore Marko Kononenko (Kyiv, Ukraine) had six saves in the final 45 minutes.
The win moves BSU into a first-place tie in the MASCAC with the Massachusetts Maritime Academy at 3-1. Worcester State was 2-1 heading into its Saturday game against MCLA.
The Bears have a game on Monday at noon at the University of Massachusetts Boston.
Westfield State will host Emerson on Tuesday at 7 p.m.