Week Ahead: Monday, Oct. 20 to Sunday, Oct. 26
BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- Here's a look at the week ahead (Oct. 20 - Oct. 26) for the Bridgewater State University athletics teams:
By Jim Fenton
BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- Here's a look at the week ahead (Oct. 20-26) for the Bridgewater State University athletics teams:
WEDNESDAY
VOLLEYBALL, at home, Mass. College of Liberal Arts, 6:00 PM: The Bears will bid to hold on to first place in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference in a key late-season match.
BSU (10-4) leads the conference at 4-0 followed by MCLA and Framingham State at 4-1 with Westfield State owning a 3-1 mark.
The Bears, 5-1 at the Tinsley Center, defeated the Trailblazers, 3-0, last season.
MCLA is 14-6 with three straight losses this season.
FIELD HOCKEY, at Nichols College, 7:00 PM: The Bears play their next-to-last non-conference game, traveling to Dudley, Mass., to take on the Bison.
BSU is riding a five-game winning streak and is 12-2 while Nichols is 3-12 and 1-5 in the Conference of New England.
The Bears won last season's matchup, 3-1, and the teams are meeting for the third time in five years.
WOMEN'S SOCCER, at home, Tufts University, 7:00 PM: The nationally ranked Jumbos visit Mazzaferro Field for BSU's next-to-last regular-season home game.
Tufts (10-1-2) was third in last week's national Division III poll before losing to Amherst and tying Middlebury after that.
The Bears lost to the Jumbos, 4-1, last season and this is the fourth straight year the teams are playing each other.
BSU (4-6-3) has been idle since Oct. 11.
THURSDAY
WOMEN'S TENNIS, at home, Little East Conference tournament, 3:00 PM: The second-seeded Bears will host a semifinal-round match at the Rosen Memorial Tennis Courts.
BSU will face the winner of a Tuesday match between third-seeded UMass Boston (9-4, 6-2) and sixth-seeded Southern Maine (4-8, 3-5).
The winner advances to the championship round on Saturday afternoon.
Top-seeded Rhode Island College (13-0, 8-0) also has a bye and will face either fourth-seeded UMass Dartmouth (8-5, 5-3) or fifth-seeded Salem State (5-4, 4-4).
SATURDAY
EQUESTRIAN, at the Grand Champion Show Stables, 9:00 AM: The Skyhawks will be in Stoughton for a show that is hosted by Stonehill College.
The Bears began the season this past Sunday in Bolton.
WOMEN'S SWIMMING & DIVING, at the Roger Williams Invitational, 11:00 AM: The Bears travel to Bristol, R.I., for the season opener.
BSU and Roger Williams will be joined by Norwich, Maine Maritime Academy and Eastern Connecticut State.
This is the first of nine meets before the Little East Championships in February.
MEN'S SWIMMING & Diving, at the Roger Williams Invitational, 11:00 AM: The Bears finished fourth at this invitational in Bristol, R.I., a year ago with 170 points.
Also competing will be Norwich, Maine Maritime Academy and Eastern Connecticut State.
MEN'S SOCCER, at Fitchburg State, 11:00 AM: The Bears play their final regular-season road game against the Falcons.
BSU is 9-5-1, 4-1-1 in the MASCAC and has two straight wins while Fitchburg State is 4-7-3 and 1-3-2.
The Bears and Mass. Maritime Academy are tied for first place with 13 points, though the Buccaneers have the tiebreaker.
VOLLEYBALL, at home, Worcester State, Noon: The Bears play their next-to-last regular-season Tinsley Center game against the Lancers.
BSU edged Worcester State a year ago, 3-2. The Lancers are 6-16, 3-2 in the conference.
FOOTBALL, at home, UMass Dartmouth, Noon: It will be Senior Day at Mazzaferro Field when the Bears host the Corsairs.
BSU is playing its second straight home game and will try to follow up on last weekend's win over Dean College. The Bears are 2-4, 2-3 in the MASCAC.
UMass Dartmouth has won or shared the last three conference titles and is 3-3, 3-2 in the MASCAC.
WOMEN'S SOCCER, at home, Fitchburg State, 4:30 PM: The Bears, who are one point out of second place in the MASCAC, host the Falcons to conclude the regular-season home schedule.
Fitchburg State is 2-10-2, 1-4-1 in the MASCAC.
FIELD HOCKEY, at Westfield State, 6:00 PM: The Bears travel west for a key MASCAC game with the Owls.
Westfield State is 8-0 in the conference, 12-3 overall, while the Bears are a half-game behind the Owls at 8-1 and are 12-2 overall.
BSU lost to Westfield State, 5-4, on a late goal and was edged by the Owls in the MASCAC title game last fall.
SUNDAY
EQUESTRIAN, at the Annabelle Meadows Farm & Equestrian Center, 9:00 AM: The Bears have their second show in as many days, this one in Westwood, Mass.
Boston University and Tufts University are co-hosts of the show.