Men's Soccer Third Seed in MASCAC Tournament

Buzzards Bay, Mass. - Bridgewater State College has earned the top seed in the 2009 Massachusetts State College Athletic Conference Men's Soccer Championships, which begin with semi-final round play on Wednesday, November 4th and conclude with the 2009 MASCAC Championship match on Saturday, November 7th.

Bridgewater State will host fourth-seeded Salem State College in Wednesday's first semi-final round match at 2:00 p.m. EST, while second-seeded Westfield State College will host third-seeded Framingham State College in Wednesday's other semifinal round contest at 3:30 p.m. EST. The two semi-final winners will meet for the 2009 MASCAC Championship and an automatic berth in the NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Championships on Saturday at the site of the highest remaining seed at a time to be determined.

Head Coach Brendan Adams' Bears posted an overall mark of 9-4-3 during the regular season, including a 6-0-1 slate in MASCAC play. Senior Luke Brewer (Edgartown, Mass.) leads Bridgewater State in scoring with 11 goals and three assists for 25 points, while senior Ryan Seifert (Ludlow, Mass.), last year's MASCAC Player of the Year, has recorded all 13 decisions in goal for the Bears with a 1.64 goals against average.

Westfield State sported a regular season mark of 8-7-2 and finished tied for second in MASCAC play with a 5-1-1 mark, but Head Coach Matt Noyes' Owls gained the second seed in this year's championship by winning their head-to-head match-up with Framingham State. Sophomore Tim Parsons (Buzzards Bay, Mass.) leads Westfield State in scoring with 11 goals and four assists for 26 points, while senior Lucas Dexter (Acushnet, Mass.) has five wins, including four shutouts, in goal.

Defending tournament champion Framingham State overcame a slow start to go 7-2-2 down the stretch and finish with an 8-8-2 regular season mark under Head Coach Dean Nichols, including a 5-1-1 MASCAC slate, as the Rams are led in scoring by junior Scott Faria's (Fall River, Mass.) nine goals and six assists for 24 points. Fellow junior Greg Halle (Beverly, Mass.) has backstopped Framingham State to seven victories and four shutouts with a 1.36 goals against average.

Salem State rounds out this year's MASCAC championship field, as the Vikings of first-year Head Coach Don Goodwin posted a 7-8 regular season slate and finished 4-3 in conference play. Senior Andrew Angus (Boston, Mass.) leads Salem State in scoring with eight goals and four assists for 20 points on the season, while the netminding tandem of junior Luis Marques (Fall River, Mass.) and freshman Scott Hall (Waltham, Mass.) have combined for seven wins and a pair of shutouts.

Framingham State claimed the 2008 MASCAC tournament title by posting a 2-1 victory over Salem State in the championship match.

Release courtesy of MASCAC Sports Information.