Men's Soccer Posts 3-2 MASCAC Win Over Framingham State

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- The Bridgewater State University men's soccer team rallied from an early deficit to post a 3-2 victory over defending Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) regular season champion Framingham State University on Saturday afternoon at Mazzaferro Field.

The Bears improve to 4-1-4 on the season and 2-0-1 in the MASCAC while the Rams fall to 4-5 overall and 1-2 in conference play. Bridgewater holds a 31-14-5 advantage in the all-time series which began in 1980.

Senior midfielder Kunphel Sinha (Darjeeling, India) made an outstanding individual effort to open the scoring in the sixth minute. Sinha dribbled around multiple defenders and blasted a shot from 23 yards out into the left side of the net to give the Rams the early 1-0 lead.

Senior forward David Nelson (East Bridgewater, Mass.) knotted the score at 1-1 in the 35th minute with his team-leading fourth goal of the season and the 23rd of his career. Freshman midfielder Nicholas Ribeiro (Bellingham, Mass.) assisted on the game-tying tally as he slid a pass between two defenders. Nelson ran onto the ball on the right side of the 18 and fired a shot inside the left post.

Less than three minutes later, senior defender Matthew Garcia (Foxboro, Mass.) potted his first goal in a BSU uniform to give the Bears a 2-1 lead. A cross from Nelson was redirected by Ribeiro and went right to Garcia who slipped a shot inside the left post from 12 yards out.

Bridgewater extended the lead to 3-1 just a minute into the second half on a goal by sophomore forward Filippo Mucci (Vineyard Haven, Mass.). Freshman midfielder Ethan Mallet (Ellington, Conn.) sent a volley over the Framingham defensive line to Mucci who got behind the defense and chipped a shot over the Rams' keeper for his second goal of the season.

BSU graduate goalkeeper William Russell (Sandwich, Mass.) knocked one over the cross bar on a well-placed shot by freshman forward Kaio Santos Da Silva (Cuparaque, Brazil) with seven minutes remaining to keep it a two-goal game.

Sinha converted on a penalty kick with 6:23 left to play to cut the deficit to 3-2.

Framingham held a 17-11 shot advantage for the game as well as a 10-4 edge in corner kick attempts.

Russell finished with seven saves to record his fourth win of the season and 17th of his career. Junior netminder Joseph Sturzo (Lowell, Mass.) turned aside two shots in the setback for the Rams.

With his three points, Nelson increased his career total to 58 (23 G, 12 A) as he tied Bob Graves (1984-87) for eighth place on the Bears' all-time scoring list.

The Bears travel to Salve Regina University on Wednesday night for a seven o'clock game with the Seahawks. The Rams head to Eastern Connecticut State University on Tuesday afternoon to take on the Warriors at four.