By Jim Fenton
BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- The long-awaited celebration began to unfold shortly before 2 p.m. on Sunday afternoon.
As the scoreboard clock at Mazzaferro Field inched closer to showing no time remaining, the cheering grew louder and louder in anticipation of a special achievement.
For the first time since 2013, the Bridgewater State women's soccer team won the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference tournament championship, and it was time to cherish the moment.
Top-seeded BSU put an end to its title drought with a 3-2 victory over second-seeded Westfield State University, ending a three-year reign by the Owls.
And when it was over, there was a festive atmosphere in the stands and on the field as the Bears completed a MASCAC sweep with regular-season and tournament championships in 2024.
As a result of the win over Westfield State, BSU is headed to the NCAA Division 3 tournament for the fourth time in program history and the initial time since '13. The Bears will learn their opening-round opponent during the NCAA selection show Monday at 2 p.m.
"A long time coming," said head coach Yasmina Carvalho, a four-year player at BSU who has been in charge of the program since 2014 and now has her first tourney crown. "It's been 15 years for me as a player and a coach, and that's a long time.
"Having it happen as a coach, working so hard with the coaching staff, all the players who've come through this program and worked so hard, this is a thank-you to them and to the players on the team now."
BSU improved to 12-4-3, its highest win total since 2019, enters the NCAAs with a 9-1-2 record in the last 12 games.
Junior Olivia Robarge (Pepperell, Mass.) scored a pair of goals with seven shots on goal for the Bears and was named the MASCAC tournament most valuable player. She now has 14 goals, the most by a BSU player since Mackenzie Hatfield had 14 in 2014.
"I'm really grateful for that,'' said Robarge of the MVP award. "I really couldn't have done it without my teammates. It means a lot to me. This is a dream. It's crazy."
BSU, which lost at home to Westfield State in last year's championship game, fell behind the Owls (11-5-4), 1-0, with 21:02 elapsed in the first half.
The Bears tied it 10 minutes later and opened a 3-1 lead two second-half goals before Westfield State ended the scoring with only 1:03 to play.
BSU had plenty of motivation in the final, remembering the 2023 championship game plus the title drought.
"It was really a big motivator for this year after what happened last season,'' said Robarge, who had three goals and an assist during the tournament and now has 50 points (22G, 6A) in her career. "We knew what it feels like to lose, so we didn't want to feel that again. We came in right. We prepared all season for this.
"We had the team last year and we didn't lose many people. We knew what to do, how to get it done this year. Coach Yas deserves this. She works so hard."
Westfield State had the lead when junior Kiana Muratsuka (Mililani, Hawaii) converted on a penalty kick. The Bears had just denied three bids in close by the Owls and Muratsuka scored her 11th goal to the right side.
But BSU stayed with it and had the game tied a short time later.
"It's something we've been talking about all season,'' said Carvalho. "First game (of the season) against North Central, we didn't know how to respond and gave up four goals in the second half.
"We kept saying that if we get scored on first, we've got to respond. They did that. It was the perfect way to wrap up this gift."
Robarge tied the game at 31:51 when Robarge scored on a rebound in front with graduate student Emily McCormack (East Bridgewater, Mass.) and senior Makenna Lessard (East Bridgewater, Mass.) assisting.
The Bears took their first lead at 2-1 at 50:55 on an own goal.
After a throw-in from about 25 yards out, a high shot on goal was misplayed by the Owls' goalkeeper and was headed into the net by a Westfield defender.
BSU widened the lead to 3-1 at 66:49 when Robarge split two defenders, drew the goalkeeper out and put a shot in. McCormack picked up her eighth assist and senior Tristen Gomes (Middleboro, Mass.) also had an assist.
"Olivia has put in so much work the past two years," said Carvalho. "She deserves everything. She worked hard physically and mentally."
The Owls cut the deficit to one at 88:57 when junior Morgan Berthiaume (Webster, Mass.) had an unassisted goal.
However, the Bears did not allow Westfield State to threaten in the final minute and had their championship.
BSU goalkeeper Logan Levesque (Bristol, R.I.) made six saves and the defense, including freshman Hope Montgomery (Abington, Mass.), was outstanding.
"Our defense has played so solid for all of October into November," said Carvalho. "The communication, understanding each other, it's there. And Hope was lights out."
Westfield State keeper Julia Robate (Chicopee, Mass.) had eight stops.
The Bears are back in the winner's circle with a clean sweep of the MASCAC titles, and the disappointment from a year ago has been replaced by a championship feeling.
"We brought back the talent we had last year and bringing in the new talent with transfers and freshmen, so from that first moment in preseason, I knew," said Carvalho. "If we didn't do it, it was on ourselves for losing it. Our expectations were there from the get-go and they definitely cme through."
