WESTFIELD, Mass. – Senior forward Alana Vincent (Taunton, Mass.) scored with 1:28 remaining in the second overtime period to lift fourth-seeded Bridgewater State University to a 1-0 double overtime victory over #1 seed Westfield State University in the semifinal round of the 2019 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC ) Women's Soccer Tournament on Friday night at Alumni Field.
With the win, Bridgewater State advances to the MASCAC title game for the first time since 2016 and 12th time in program history. The Bears (12-8) will travel to Worcester State University on Sunday afternoon to take on the third-seeded Lancers at noon. Worcester State defeated #2 Salem State University in the other semifinal matchup, 3-2, in overtime. Westfield State ends the 2019 season with an overall record of 11-6-1.
Vincent tucked a shot inside the left post to provide the game-ending heroics off a nice feed from senior forward Emma Sanders (Seekonk, Mass.). After running on to a pass from Vincent to the right of the 18, Sanders dribbled around two defenders and slid a centering pass back to Vincent who beat the Westfield keeper from 12 yards out.
The Bears earned the hard-fought win despite being outshot in the game, 27-13.
BSU senior goalkeeper Kellie Souza (Wilmington, Mass.) turned aside seven shots to record her 12th win of the season and seventh shutout. Souza set the school goaltending record for minutes played in a season (1812:02) and tied the program mark for games played (20).
Westfield's best scoring opportunity in overtime came in the second session when sophomore midfielder Jenn Rennich (Bedford, Mass.) rang the crossbar from just inside the 18.
Freshman netminder Lauryn Davis (Templeton, Mass.) made four saves in the setback for the Owls.
Notes: The Bears and the Owls were meeting in the MASCAC Tournament for the 12th time in the 20-year history of the tournament. Today's game also marked the fifth straight year (tenth overall) that the two teams met in the semifinals….Despite the loss, Westfield holds a 21-16-8 advantage in the all-time series including a 5-3-4 mark in MASCAC Tournament play… Vincent's goal marked her MASCAC leading 18th of the season, while Sanders set a career-high with her conference leading 11th assist of the 2019 campaign….Vincent's 18 goals marks the third highest singles-season total in program history. Kara Kenney (1989) and BSU Hall of Famers Kathy Conley (1990) and Kimberly Rhodes (2002) also scored 18 goals in a season while wearing a Bridgewater State uniform….Only Rhodes has recorded more assists in a season than Sanders. Rhodes notched 12 helpers in 2002 as well as 11 in 2003....Souza broke former teammate Lauren DeSousa's single-season minutes played record of 1810:15 set in 2016. She equaled Maura Cacciatore's games played mark of 20 set in 2002.