By Jim Fenton
BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- The Bridgewater State University men's soccer team is riding a four-game winning steak entering the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference tournament.
The Bears finished the regular season on Saturday afternoon with a 5-0 victory over Framingham State University at Mazzaferro Field.
Coupled with a Mass. Maritime tie, the Bears captured the MASCAC regular season title for the third straight season and seventh time in program history.
BSU (11-5-1) are the top seed and will have a bye in the tournament and play a semifinal-round game at home on Friday.
BSU went 6-1-1 for 19 points in the conference, ahead of Westfield State (5-1-2, 17 points). Mass. Maritime entered its final game 5-1-1 for 16 points and holds the tiebreaker over the Bears.
BSU recorded its fifth shutout in the final seven games while defeating the Rams (5-10-3, 2-6 MASCAC).
Freshman Cameron Walty (Weymouth, Mass.) scored a pair of goals less than two minutes apart while senior Filippo Mucci (Vineyard Haven, Mass.) had a career-best four assists including the 50th point of his career. Mucci, who now has 53 points (18G, 17A) in four seasons with the Bears, became the 16th player in program history to crack the 50-point barrier.
Junior Kyle Sullivan (Enfield, Conn.) made three saves to record his MASCAC-leading seventh shutout and 11th win of the season.
The Bears jumped to a 3-0 lead by halftime with Walty getting both of his goals in the first 45 minutes.
Junior Tyler Chang (Acushnet, Mass.) started the scoring at 10:16 with his fifth goal, assisted by Mucci. Off a restart, Chang's shot from the top of the 18 deflected off a defender and into the right side of the net.
Walty followed at 23:44 with senior Gavin Norton (Rockland, Mass.) and Mucci getting the assists.
Walty's fifth goal of the season at 25:33 pushed the lead to 3-0 with junior Hector Bucio (Easton, Mass.) and Mucci assisting.
The Bears, who outshot the Rams, 35-6, and had a 10-1 edge in corner kicks, had 24 of their overall shots in the second half.
Senior Melvin Alves (Brockton, Mass.) made it 4-0 at 82:08 with his third goal as junior Ethan Mallett (Ellington, Conn.) and Mucci had the assists.
Freshman Ryan Moitoso (Rehoboth, Mass.) ended the scoring with his first career goal at 88:49, senior Brady McDonald (Florence, Mass.) and sophomore James Billiter (Irvine, Calif.) assisting.
Freshman Colin Holt (Belchertown, Mass.) made six saves in 74:27 for Framingham State while sophomore Mickey Walker (Bridgewater, Mass.) had three saves in 15:33.
The MASCAC tourney opens with a pair of games on Wednesday. The semifinal-round games are Friday with the championship to be decided on Sunday, Nov. 9.