MASCAC HOF Inductions Highlight Men's Soccer's Saturday Match

WESTFIELD, Mass.  –  Westfield State University athletics will welcome back the 1974 men's soccer team and the family of late men's soccer coach John Kurty, who coached the Owls from 1966 to 1977, as both the team and coach Kurty will be formally inducted to the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference Hall of Fame on Saturday.

The induction will be held on the field at Alumni Field at halftime of the men's soccer match as Westfield State hosts UMass-Dartmouth in a non-conference game at 11:00 a.m.   A reunion event for all Westfield State soccer players is being held in conjunction with the game and inductions, interested alumni should contact Tom Convery at tconvery@westfield.ma.edu or 413-572-8649.

Westfield's 1974 men's soccer team was the first Owls team to advance to an NCAA Division III Final four, and finished third in the nation with Kurty as their head coach.

The team finished with a record of 17 wins, four losses and two ties. Westfield was the Massachusetts State College Athletic Conference champion with a 5-1 mark in league play. 

Along the way, the team earned Kurty's 100th career collegiate coaching win with a 5-2 win over Boston State early in the season, and the season marked the debut of Westfield State University's Astroturf Field, now known as Alumni Field.

The Owls defeated Coast Guard 10-1, and Framingham, 3-0 to win the Northeast Regional and advance to the final four, played in Wheaton, Ill.

The Owls won a physical game against Framingham, as Chris Moukas got the Owls on the board first, and Dennis Dugas added a pair of second half goals to seal the win and the trip to Illinois.

The Owls fell to Brockport (N.Y.) State 6-0 on a slippery, muddy field in the national semifinal game on Thanksgiving Day, but bounced back two days later to defeat MacMurray (Ill.) College by a 3-1 score with goals from Allie Goncalves, Chris Moukas and Dennis Dugas in the consolation final to claim third place in the nation.

The team was selected to the Westfield State athletic hall of fame as a "team of distinction" in 2017.

Kurty was the first coach inducted in the Westfield State Hall of Fame when it was founded in 1994. Kurty, who retired from the Westfield State faculty as a physical education instructor in 1988, compiled a brilliant 153-36-13 record in coaching the Owls from 1966 to 1977.

At the time of his retirement, his .790 winning percentage was the highest of any coach, active or retired, in all New England divisions. Kurty led the Owls to five straight NCAA Tournament appearances and three New England state championships. Kurty's 1974 team finished third in the nation.

Kurty coached golf for 10 years and volleyball for seven years at WSC, and was a volunteer assistant for the baseball team. He came to Westfield from his hometown of Ludlow, where he coached the high school soccer team to a 10-year record of 150-19-19 and three consecutive state titles.

He is also a member of the Ludlow High School hall of fame and the New England Soccer Hall of Fame.

In his retirement years, Kurty was an avid golfer, and an umpire for local college and high school baseball games.

On the pitch, the Owls, 2-3 this season, will meet the Corsairs of UMass Dartmouth.  UMD enters the match looking for its first win of the season with an 0-3-1 record.

Westfield has been led by the scoring of junior transfer forward Nick Parakilas with four goals and eight points.  He netted a hat trick on opening night.   Coleby Andrade has added a goal and two assists for the Owls.  First-year Tim Tkacz was named the league's rookie of the week last week after tallying a pair of assists in Westfield's win over Elms College.

Braeden Leclair and Justin Petrillo lead the Corsairs in scoring, each with two goals and an assist for five points this season.  Ethan Donahue has a 2.21 goals against average and a .696 save percentage.