WESTFIELD, Mass. - Bridgewater State senior forward David Nelson (E. Bridgewater, Mass.) recorded a hat trick to lead the Bears to a 6-0 win over Westfield State in a MASCAC men's soccer matchup at Alumni Field on Saturday afternoon.
Westfield had a chance to grab the league lead with a win, but now fall to 4-2 in the conference and 6-7-1 overall. League-leading Bridgewater is now 5-0-1 in the MASCAC and 9-2-4 overall
Nelson got the bears on the board first, knocking home a rebound in the 13th minute after Nicholas Ribero's (Bellingham, Mass./Milford HS) shot attempt deflected off an Owls defender to Nelson on the left side of the goalkeepers box.
The Bears made it 2-0 six minutes later with good buildup from the midfield that ended with Ethan DeMelo (Acushnet, Mass./New Bedford) slotting a ball through the middle of the defense for Jacob Ramos (New Bedford), who found the back of the net.
Westfield limited the first half damage, trailing 2-0 at the break. The Owls were out-shot just 10-8 in the first half.
Westfield's best scoring chance in the first half came on a Paul Whalley (Southwick, Mass.) header off of a long serve from the midfield that BSU goalkeeper William Russell (Sandwich, Mass.) had to deflect over the top of the cage.
In the second half, the Bears made the most of their opportunities, cashing in four times in a seven-minute span midway through the half. Nelson scored on a breakaway to make it 3-0 in the 73rd minute, and two minutes later shook loose to run on to a through ball from Dominek Borden (New Bedford/GNBR Voc Tech) to make it a 4-0 game.
Both teams cleared the benches from there, and Borden found Will Halben (Attleboro, Mass.) with a through ball, and finally Borden won possession deep in the right corner and curled in a shot from 25 yards out in the 80th minute for the final margin. Borden finished with a goal and two assists, all in the second half.
Westfield's best second half chance came late when Josh Wietecha (Chicopee, Mass.) curved a shot around the wall on a free kick and forced Russell to make a stop. Russell finished with six saves on the day to get the clean sheet.
The Bears' attack spoiled the Owls senior day, as Westfield State recognized seven graduating seniors before the match. Collin O'Brien (Windsor Locks, Conn.), Matthew Allen (Southwick, Mass.), Alphonso Lopez (Ipswich, Mass.), Jacoby Authier (Holyoke, Mass.), Drew Adams (N. Attleboro), Jack Johnson (Marlborough, Mass./AMSA) and Coleby Andrade (Falmouth, Mass.) were all noted for their contributions to the program.
Westfield will play its final regular season game next Saturday, October 28 at Salem State. That game will help determine seeding for the conference tournament. Westfield could finish as high as the #2 seed with a win over Salem.
Bridgewater will play its final regular season game on Friday, Oct. 27 at MCLA.