Men's Soccer Battles RIC to 2-2 Tie

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The visiting Bridgewater State University men's soccer team played to a 2-2 tie with Rhode Island College on Tuesday afternoon at Alumni Stadium.

The Bears see their record go to 9-2-5 on the season while the Anchormen are now 8-3-5. Bridgewater was ranked second in the most recent NCAA Division III Region Two rankings.

Sophomore forward Filippo Mucci (Vineyard Haven, Mass.) opened the scoring in the 22nd minute with his fifth goal of the season. Off a give-and-go with junior forward Dominek Borden (New Bedford, Mass.), senior defender Matthew Garcia (Foxboro, Mass.) sent a cross into the six that was headed home by Mucci inside the back post.

The Anchormen converted off a quick restart in the 33rd minute to knot the score at 1-1. From just outside the 18, junior midfielder Anthony Recinos (Providence, R.I.) chipped the ball though the unsuspecting BSU defensive wall to a cutting Cody Granville (Fr., Wakefield, R.I.) who slipped a shot past the diving BSU keeper for his seventh goal of the year.

Sophomore forward Colin Evans (East Longmeadow, Mass.) reclaimed the lead for the Bears in the 77th minute with his first goal of the 2023 campaign. A give-and-go between Borden and freshman midfielder Nicholas Ribeiro (Bellingham, Mass.) resulted in a well-placed crossing pass by Borden from the left side. The ball eluded two defender and Evans a delivered a shot inside the left post.

RIC tied the game up at 2-2 with just 91 seconds remaining in the second half. Graduate forward Braeden Cannon (Cranston, R.I.) worked a give-and-go with Granville as Cannon got behind the marking defender and beat the charging Bridgewater netminder with a shot into the left side of the net.

The visitors held a decided 24-6 shot advantage for the game with a 4-2 edge in corner kick attempts.

Junior Wesley Perrott (Pembroke, Mass.) and freshman Elhadji Ndoye (Cranston, R.I.) split the game in goal for the Anchormen as the duo combined to make eight saves. Junior goaltender Lukas Ekmanis (Baxter, Tenn.) made one save for the Bears in his first collegiate start.

Both teams wrap up regular season play later this week. The Bears travel to MCLA on Friday evening to take on the Trailblazers at six o'clock in a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) matchup. The Anchormen entertain Little East Conference (LEC) foe Western Connecticut State University on Saturday afternoon at one.