WESTFIELD, Mass. – Westfield State sophomore Santino Mazza (East Longmeadow, Mass.) scored a pair of goals including the game-winning tally with 1:52 remaining in the game as the Owls rallied from two goals down in the second half to defeat MCLA 3-2 in a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference game on the road Friday night.
The Owls have won their first three conference games, improving to 4-2-1 on the year and 3-0 in the league. The Trailblazers drop to 3-4-1 on the season and 0-2-1 in MASCAC play.
With the game tied at two goals apiece, MCLA had a corner kick with about three minutes to play. A cross into the box was deflected out of danger off the head of senior Coleby Andrade (Falmouth, Mass.) sending the ball towards the sideline.
Sophomore Carter Hebert (Easthampton, Mass.) then chased after the ball, saved it on the end line and tapped the ball forward and past a charging defender before delivering a through ball out in front of Mazza who beat his defender and fired a shot low and away from a sprawling Ryan Taylor (Plattsburgh, N.Y.) to give Westfield their first lead of the night.
Trailing 2-0 entering the second half, the Owls cut the deficit in half inside the 53rd minute off the foot of first-year midfielder Paul Whalley (Southwick, Mass.) who chipped a free kick from just outside the penalty area over a wall of Trailblazers' defenders and into the top left corner of the net.
Seven minutes later, the Owls quickly went on the offensive attack after MCLA lost possession in the Owls defensive end.
Luke Theroux (Chicopee, Mass.) launched a pass to the midfield stripe where Andrade once again won a 50-50 ball by heading the ball forward, eventually settling to Matthew Allen (Southwick, Mass.). Allen then crossed the ball to the edge of the box to Mazza who hooked a left-footed shot around a defender and past the diving Taylor to tie the game with just under 30 minutes left in the game, setting up the late tally.
Jacob Malburg (Amesbury, Mass.) opened the scoring for both sides 7:49 into the game, recording his third goal of the year to put MCLA up 1-0. The Trailblazers scored a second goal with just 47 seconds left in the half as Marcos Lopez (Albany, N.Y.) earned his second tally of the season.
Theroux (W, 4-2) kept the Owls in striking distance throughout the contest as MCLA held a 22-11 shots advantage. Theroux piled up nine saves, stopping all five shots faced in the second half. Taylor (L, 1-4-1) picked up one save for the Trailblazers.
Westfield State, which finished the month of September by winning three of their last four games, returns home next Tuesday to host Emerson College on October 3 at 7:00 P.M.