MASSACHUSETTS MARITIME MEN’S SOCCER

Friday, October 30, 2015

Clean Harbors Stadium, Buzzards Bay, Mass.

FINAL:              WESTFIELD STATE 2, MASSACHUSETTS MARITIME 0

BUZZARDS BAY, Mass. --  Senior Kevin Bengle (West Springfield, Mass.) netted a goal and an assist to lead Westfield State to a 2-0 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference men’s soccer victory over Massachusetts Maritime in the regular season finale for both teams Friday evening at Clean Harbors Stadium.

With the win, the visiting Owls (6-9-1, 5-2 MASCAC) clinch the top seed in next week’s MASCAC Championships and will host a semifinal round contest next Friday in Westfield, Mass.  The host Buccaneers (5-11, 3-4 MASCAC) will await their final tournament seed following the completion of the remainder of the conference regular season on Saturday, as complete playoff pairings will be announced by the league office over the weekend.

Sophomore Connor Gilbert (Melrose, Mass.) gave Westfield State the only goal it would need in the 15^th minute of play when he notched his third tally of the season on a cross from Bengle, who provided the Owls with an insurance marker (his first of the fall) with just under eight minutes remaining in the opening half on a header off junior Zack Carlson’s (Fall River, Mass.) corner kick.  Sophomore Alex Kraver (West Springfield, Mass.) made that stand up in net for the visitors, as he made five saves (including a pair of point blank stops midway through the second half) to earn his fifth victory and second shutout of the year.

Junior Joe Cohen (Plymouth, Mass.) made six stops in suffering the setback in goal for Massachusetts Maritime, as each team ended the evening with 12 total shots.  The Owls held an 8-5 edge in shots on goal for the night, while the Buccaneers took five of the eight corner kicks for the contest.