By Jim Fenton

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- They were together as freshmen in 2019 when victories were hard to come by for the Bridgewater State University men's soccer team.

David Nelson (East Bridgewater, Mass.), William Russell (Sandwich, Mass.) and Will Halben (Attleboro, Mass.) made their collegiate debuts when the Bears finished 5-13-2, including 3-4 in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference.

One year later, aiming to bounce back, BSU was idle in the fall of 2020 when COVID forced the cancellation of the season.

The 2021 season had the Bears again finish below .500, losing in double overtime in the semifinal round of the MASCAC tourney, and BSU was 7-8-4 in 2022, losing on penalty kicks in the conference tourney final.

There were some rocky times for Nelson, Russell and Halben those four years, which made what has happened this fall so rewarding for the trio.

After going through three sub-.500 seasons and one year lost to COVID, Nelson, Russell and Halben have played key roles in helping the Bears win the MASCAC regular-season and tournament championships.

BSU (12-2-5) is back in the NCAA Division 3 tournament for the first time since 2018 and will face Tufts University Saturday at 11 a.m. in Medford, Mass.

In their final seasons of eligibility, Nelson, Russell and Halben are riding high, a long way after from that debut season of 2019.

"The 2019 season was definitely, from my understanding, a hangover from the last championship that they won in 2018," said Halben, a forward who has three goals and two assists this year. "They had a lot of seniors the year before, so the team was completely new, full of transfers and eight or nine freshmen. It was a completely different environment compared to now."

The Bears lost to Salem State on penalty kicks in the semifinal round of the MASCAC tourney in '19, ending a transition season.

"It was definitely tough having a losing record, especially after Bridgewater won the championship the year before," said Nelson, the leading scorer with 11 goals and six assists for 28 points this fall.

Then came COVID when everything was put on hold and the Bears would be limited to practicing instead of going through the 2020 season.

Instead of moving forward from 2019, BSU had to wait to get back on the field and play games.

"It was devastating," said Russell, who has a 0.84 goals against average this season. "That was the year coming back after a rough season that we wanted to start building for the future and progressing to a championship. To have the season taken away was sad and almost made you feel like we were taking a step back."

Said Nelson, "The COVID year was pretty frustrating. We had practice three days a week, a couple of scrimmages. It kind of stunk not having a season."

Halben took the year off from classes, which were being taught on-line and was not able to practice with the team.

"That was definitely tough," he said. "Obviously we started slow (in 2019), but eventually we started to find our footing a little bit. We still had a pretty young team with a lot of juniors that first year. The next year was supposed to really be a big year and obviously COVID struck.

"There were a lot of questions of whether we'd have a season. Once we found we weren't going to play, I took the year off and focused on other stuff."

The 2021 season was an adjustment process with everyone getting used to playing again, and the Bears improved, going 5-2 in the MASCAC before losing in a second overtime in the semifinal round.

That was followed in 2022 by a bitter defeat on penalty kicks to Worcester State in the championship game.

Nelson and Halben, who graduate after this semester, and Russell, who is a graduate student, are making the most of their final season.

The Bears went 6-0-1 during the MASCAC regular season and won by shutout in the two tourney games to make the NCAAs. It is the first time BSU has won the regular season and tourney titles in the same season.

"It feels like every year leading up to this was a stepping stone," said Russell, who ranks fifth at BSU with 25 career wins and 14 1/2 shutouts. "We're building off each year. It's nice to go out in this way being our last year. It's nice to leave the program in a good spot.

"It's awesome. It's everything I could have wanted, to be honest. Coming back one last season, it was do or die. It makes me feel good to retire on a high note."

Nelson, the most valuable player of the MASCAC tourney, had three goals in the first half to help defeat Westfield State on Sunday.

"Every year just got better and better," said Nelson, who is second at BSU with 76 career points and third with 30 goals. "This is very rewarding. Our team worked very hard.

"It feels really good. You couldn't ask for anything better. Our last year is our best year."

The year continues with a trip to Medford this week and a chance to advance in the NCAA tourney.

"It's an amazing feeling," said Halben. "It feels like the culmination of everything we've been through, especially me, David and Will Russell, who have been here since 2019.

"We had (five) wins that first year and now we've got 12 wins. We finally got a perfect season we've been building for.

"It was all worth it. I was able to come back and we were able to finish what we started."