BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – Senior forward David Nelson (East Bridgewater, Mass.) potted a pair of goals and freshman midfielder Colin Evans (East Longmeadow, Mass.) notched two goals and an assist to lead fourth-seeded Bridgewater State University to a 6-0 shutout victory over #5 seed Westfield State University in the quarterfinal round of the 2022 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) Men's Soccer Tournament on Tuesday night at Swenson Field.
The Bears (7-8-2) advance to the MASCAC Tournament semifinal round and will travel to top-seeded Framingham State University on Friday night to take on the Rams at six. The Owls end the season with an overall record of 3-10-5. The two teams were meeting for just the second time in MASCAC Tournament play and first since 2015.
Nelson got the Bears on the board in the 39th minute. Sophomore forward Brett Ghelfi (Halifax, Mass.) picked up the assist on the strike as he won the ball at midfield off a Westfield goal kick and sent a header down the middle of the field. The ball deflected off an Owl defender and directly to a streaking Nelson who beat the keeper one-on-one with a shot inside the right post.
Junior midfielder Will Halben (Attleboro, Mass.) headed home a crossing pass from junior defender Jacob Ramos (New Bedford, Mass.) to extend the BSU lead to 2-0 with just 1:22 remaining in the first half. Evans also assisted on the goal.
Senior forward Robson Montrond (Brockton, Mass.) nearly gave the Bears a three-goal advantage in the 58th minute as he rang the crossbar after intercepting a pass from the keeper near the top of the 18.
Nelson would make it a 3-0 game just three minutes later as he collected a long pass from sophomore midfielder Carsten Boloz (Southborough, Mass.) on the left side of the six and ripped a close-range shot inside the left post. For Nelson, the goal marked his team-leading ninth of the season.
Sophomore defender Jack O'Toole (Wilbraham, Mass.) converted off a restart in the 84th minute to extend the lead to 4-0. O'Toole buried a shot just under the crossbar from 35 yards out for his third goal of the season.
Evans potted his first two collegiate goals just 76 seconds apart late in the second half to put the finishing touches on the 6-0 win. Boloz setup the first strike as he collected a punt from senior goalkeeper William Russell (Sandwich, Mass.) and slipped a pass between two defenders to a streaking Evans who beat the keeper one-on-one with a shot to the center of the cage. Evans then scored off the rebound of his own shot to round out the scoring with just 13 seconds left to play.
The Bears held a 26-9 shot advantage for the game as well as a 5-2 edge in corner kick attempts.
Russell turned aside six shots to record his seventh win of the season and fifth shutout.
Junior netminders Emilio Mancuso (Ludlow, Mass.) and Collin O'Brien (Windsor Locks, Conn.) combined to make 11 saves between the pipes for the Owls. Mancuso stopped nine shots in 70-plus minutes of action.