Men's Soccer Rallies for 3-2 Win Over UMass Boston

BOSTON, Mass. – The Bridgewater State University men's soccer team erased a two-goal halftime deficit with three goals late in the second half as the visiting Bears rallied for a 3-2 victory over UMass Boston on Monday afternoon at Monan Field.

The Bears improve to 3-1-2 on the season, while the Beacons Fall to 6-2. Bridgewater snapped a three-game losing skid against UMass closed the gap in the all-time series (12-9 in favor of UMB). The Bears last win against the Beacons came in 2018, a 2-1 decision in Bridgewater.

Trailing 2-0 with under 15 minutes left to play in the contest, the Bears reeled off three goals in a span of three minutes and 57 seconds to come away with the improbable victory.

Freshman forward John Arruda (Espirito Santo, Brazil) scored off the rebound of a Gabriel Meireles (So., Everett, Mass.) shot to put the Beacons on the board in the 17th minute. Less than three minutes later, Meireles extended the lead to 2-0 with his team-leading eighth goal of the season.

The score remained that way until BSU freshman forward Thomas Terry (South Yarmouth, Mass.) got the Bears on the board with just over 14 minutes remaining on the scoreboard. Ethan Mallett split a pair of defenders with a long pass down the middle of the field and Terry buried a shot inside the left post from the top of the 18 for his second career marker.

Junior midfielder Nicolas Matias (Milford, Mass.) potted the equalizer in the 80th minute as he converted a penalty kick for his first goal of the 2023 campaign. Freshman midfielder Tyler Chang (Acushnet, Mass.) drew the foul in the box.

Just 48 seconds later, Matias picked off an errant pass in the UMB defensive zone and slipped a pass to senior forward David Nelson (East Bridgewater, Mass.). Nelson took a couple of quick steps and beat the oncoming keeper with a shot from just inside the 18 into the center of the cage. The goal marked Nelson's team-leading third of the season.

BSU graduate goalkeeper William Russell (Sandwich, Mass.) made two saves in the final minutes to preserve the Bears' comeback win, Sophomore midfielder Ryan Healy (Cork, Ireland) also came up with a key blocked shot on a quality scoring chance inside the 18 by freshman forward John Arruda (Espirito Santo, Brazil) in the 86th minute.

Russell, the reigning MASCAC Defensive Player of the Week, finished with ten saves on the afternoon. Six of the ten stops came in the second half.

UMass finished with a slight 18-17 shot advantage as well as a 7-6 edge in corner kick attempts.

Junior netminder JJ Devine (Halifax, Mass.) turned aside five shots in the setback for the Beacons.

In upcoming action, the Bears travel to Fitchburg State University on Friday evening for a 6:30 MASCAC game with the Falcons. The Beacons head to Eastern Nazarene College on Thursday night to take on the Lions at seven.