BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – Westfield State University captured the 2023 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) Women's Soccer Tournament title as the second-seeded Owls rallied for a 2-1 win over top-seeded Bridgewater State University in the tournament championship game on late Sunday afternoon at Mazzaferro Field.
The MASCAC Tournament championship marks the third straight and tenth overall for the Owls (13-6-1) who advance to the NCAA Division III Tournament for the tenth time in program history. The 64-team national tournament gets underway on Friday. The selection show announcing the pairings will air Monday at 1:30 p.m. on ncaa.com.
The Bears end the season with an overall record of 11-6-1.
Senior defender Sydney Dewhurst (East Bridgewater, Mass.) scored off a restart in the seventh minute to stake the Bears to the early 1-0 lead. Dewhurst blasted a shot from near midfielder that landed inside the 18. The goalie came out to play the ball but got caught in between and the ball bounced into the back of the net. For Dewhurst, the goal marked her team-leading tenth of the season.
BSU sophomore goalkeeper Logan Levesque (Bristol, R.I.) made a terrific diving stop on a header attempt by sophomore defender Emily Ottomaniello (Agawam, Mass.) off a restart in the 24th minute. Levesque turned aside five shots in the first half as the Bears took the 1-0 lead into the break.
Westfield freshman forward and tournament MVP Kiana Muratsuka (Mililani, Hawaii) buried a direct kick into the top-left corner of the net from 26 yards out to knot the score at 1-1 less than eight minutes into the second half. The goal marked Muratsuka's 13th of the 2023 campaign.
Muratsuka then forced a turnover on the right side of the 18 to set up junior forward Delaney Parker (Orange, Mass.) with the game-winning goal in the 66th minute. Parker dribbled across the top of the six and ripped a left-footed shot inside the far post for her team-leading 18th strike of the season.
Westfield held a 23-8 shot advantage for the game including a 13-3 edge in the second half. The Owls also attempted all four corner kicks in the contest.
Sophomore goalkeeper Julia Robak (Chicopee, Mass.) made two saves to pick up her ninth win of the season between the pipes for Westfield.
Levesque finished with nine saves on the evening.
Notes: The Bears and the Owls have met every season since Bridgewater added women's soccer as a varsity program in 1987 with Westfield holding a 24-17-8 advantage in the all-time series including a 6-3-4 edge in 13 MASCAC Tournament matchups…Prior to 2023, the two teams last met in the MASCAC Tournament in 2019 with Bridgewater coming away with a 1-0 semifinal round victory out in Westfield.