BSC Women's Soccer defeats Plymouth State 4-2

By- Steven M Miller Jr, Staff Writer

Midfielder Taryn Sullivan scored a pair of goals to lead Bridgewater State College over Plymouth State University in a 4-2 decision on Tuesday afternoon. With the win, the Bears have won six of their last eight games and their record now stands at 7-5-1. With the loss, the Panthers fall to 5-8 on the season.

Plymouth State got on the board first in the 35th minute when sophomore forward Stacy DiSabato on an assist from midfielder Lauren Lavery.

“Being down one, I was still very confident that we would score some goals,” said head coach Andrea O’Connor. “Going into the second half we had the momentum and I knew it was only a matter of time.”

Bridgewater State College responded after the first stanza, with a pair of goals 53 seconds apart. Midfielder Jacklyn Wisoky tied the game in the 48th minute and Sullivan scored the go-ahead tally on a dish from forward Megan Williamson.

The Bears took the lead for good in the 55th minute on Williamson’s eighth goal of the season on a shot that squeaked past the Plymouth State keeper.

The Panthers pulled to within a goal in the 65th minute, but Sullivan answered back with her second goal of the game less than a minute later.

The Bears were relentless on offense as they held an advantage a 33-12 advantage in shots and edge in corner kicks 10-3.

“My team is a team that doesn’t hang its head when it can’t score,” said O’Connor. “They have the confidence in their ability to score. This year more so than any other year we have the ability to finish.”

Bridgewater State goalie Ashley Spingler registered four saves in her second start of the season while her counterpart Ashley Riberdy made 11 stops between the posts for Plymouth State.

Over the upcoming weekend, the Bears will face off against conference foe Salem State in a 4pm match on Saturday afternoon. They will then play their last two games at home versus Keene State on Tuesday (3:30pm) and Framingham on Saturday (11am).

“We still have to get by Framingham and Salem State, who have beaten some good teams,” said O’Connor. “We have to make a few adjustments and play our game which is putting teams under pressure and scoring goals.”

With a 2-1-1 MASCAC record, Bridgewater State looks to maintain its record and get as high a seed as they can for the conference tournament in two weeks.

“I think that we are very strong and in a great position to win the MASCAC,” said O’Connor. “We will definitely be a battle in the tournament.”

Extra points:

Coach O’Connor on her disappointments (in the Plymouth State game):

“We definitely had the better play for the first 45 minutes and their goal was a mistake on our part. (It was) a breakdown on the defensive end.”

Coach O’Connor on what she said to her team at the intermission (down 1-0):

“I expressed to my team how important it was to keep the pressure on. They did and we had three goals in the first fifteen minutes of the half.”

Coach O’Connor tying to Fitchburg and losing to Worcester State:

“We definitely should have beaten Fitchburg (the tie)”…”Worcester (the lone loss) will be our toughest competition. We didn’t play well and they played well. They put the pressure on us right from the whistle and we didn’t respond."

Bears lose chance at division lead

Coast Guard quarterback Chris George paced a shot-gun option attack that was good for 245 total yards and a pair of touchdowns in a 27-24 victory over Bridgewater State College this past Saturday.

“It was a battle of two teams trading punches,” said head coach Charles Denune. “We couldn’t be happier with the effort. They went out there and worked hard as a unit.”

Junior quarterback Steven Clark led the way for Bridgewater State rushing 17 times for 78 yards and he threw the ball 176 yards for three touchdowns.

“I think our triple option was effective,” said Clark. “I don’t think they expected me to throw as much as they did, and when I did, we took advantage of them on their weak side.”

On defense, the visiting Bears were led by linebacker Tim Powler who led the team with an interception and 11 tackles (two for a loss) while lineman Sean Larkin notched 10 tackles. Linebacker’s Casey Florence and Marcus Wells, and lineman Chris Dijak all finished the game with eight tackles, respectively.

The key drive of the game came with 4:31 left in the fourth quarter, with the visiting Bears in possession of the ball and down by a three point margin. With the ball on their own 20-yard line, Coach Denune decided to bring in senior reserve quarterback Greg Borsari.

“I think the big spark for the offense was, on the final drive,” said senior wide receiver Jimmy Yaitanes. “He came out there like a warrior.”

Immediately making an impact from the second play of the drive, Borsari couldn’t find an open receiver and sprinted 28 yards for a first down.

“(When Borsari) ran it up the middle for 28 yards, you could see the emotion of the team get lifted at that moment,” said Yaitanes.

Following a nine yard reception from receiver Chris Joyce and an 11-yard dash by Chris Russell, Borsari found receiver Pat McGrail open in the seam for an 11 yard gain to the Coast Guard’s 35-yard line.

After first down incompletion, Borsari passed to Rusell for seven yards on the second and ten. On third down, Borsari found receiver Chris McCarthy open down the middle, but a Coast Guard defender caused the incompletion. Electing not to kick the field goal, Denune stuck with his best receivers on the field and went for it on fourth and three.

With 1:21 remaining in the game, Borsari hiked the ball, looked to the left at Joyce who was covered and then threw it to McGrail, but Coast Guard safety Kevin Novak stepped in front of the pass and picked the ball off.

“(Greg) drove us down the field while being thrown into the last drive of the game,” said Clark. “He put us in the best position for us to win. There wasn’t much time left on the clock and he got us within winning distance, but we just came off a little short.”

This weekend, the Bears will travel to Westfield State in an attempt to bounce back after suffering their first Bogan Division loss. Bridgewater State will be visiting the Owls for their annual homecoming game.

“We have three tough football games coming up,” said Denune. “We will be playing in a pretty hostile environment and be ready to play some football, because they are going to be ready to do the same.”

Coach Denune said that Westfield State likes to run in an I-formation, with two running backs right behind the quarterback and two wide receivers on the outside. Defensively, the Owls will counter with a 4-3 defense.

“They sure have some good athletes on both sides of the ball,” said Denune.

Clark said that he is expecting a tough matchup this week in playing Westfield.

“Westfield always plays us tough, and everyone is gunning for us this season,” said Clark. “It is just a matter of if we execute it to the best we can or not. We (just have to) take it one week at a time.”

With the loss, the Bears fall to 4-2 on the season and 3-1 in the NEFC Bogan Division. Bridgewater State College will play Westfield State at 1pm on Saturday afternoon. If you cannot make the game, the match-up will be webcasted at mascac.tv.

Bridgewater State College scored first on a 52-yard touchdown strike from Clark to McGrail in the first quarter. Following a BSC turnover in the second quarter, the defense buckled down and held the homestanding Bears to a field goal, with 8:02 remaining in the half.

The visiting Bears went up 14-3 on a 32 yard touchdown flick from Clark to Joyce. Coast Guard responded scoring on a 23 yard touchdown lob from George to wide receiver Matt Keith to cap off the scoring in the first stanza.

Coming out of the locker room at halftime both teams traded field position and then Coast Guard retook the lead on a one yard plunge from running back Niels Pierson. The homestanding Bears whittled off 8:39 off the clock in a drive that went for 22 plays and started on their own two yard line.

Following an interception, Bridgewater State College took full advantage and made the score 21-17 on a ten yard reception from McGrail (Clark pass).

After a good kick-off return, Coast Guard quickly scored on a three yard scamper (on fourth down) by George, with 8:31 remaining in the game.

“We just have to keep our heads on straight,” said Yaitanes. “If we prepare for it, with a little push one way or the other, our season might go longer than we expect.”

Photos courtesy of Bridgew.edu/athletics

Quotes from Coach Denune, Qb Steven Clark, and WR Jimmy Yaitanes

Coach Denune

On the game:
“We played from behind and going with Greg was an easy decision in the fourth quarter. Stevie also had a great game and did everything that you could do. He ran the ball well, and Greg had a great effort. Unfortunately we couldn’t punch the last one in.”

On dealing with injuries to (wide receiver) Jesse Teixiera, and (running backs) Bruce Burley and Teigan Pina:
“I think that players like (receivers) McGrail and Joyce, and running backs Williams and Russell have really stepped up their level of play and matured quickly. They went out there and played well against one of the best teams in New England.”

One good thing about the offense this week:
“The receivers made big plays in the passing game and they really stretched the field so that we could run with the football.”

One bad thing about the offense this week:
“I wish we could have scored more points. It was one of our better games although the result wasn’t what we wanted.”

Why didn’t you kick the field goal on fourth and three on the 25 yard-line:
“It was an easy decision, because our kicker quit on us (earlier in the week). DeBruno was 3-3 on PAT’s, but he was just getting them over the upright. From the 25 yard-line, a 34 yard field goal is out of the question. I just thought it was the best thing to do.

Defensive performance:
“I couldn’t be happier with the defenses effort. They played well and they played hard as a unit and they had to deal with a special athlete in QB George.”

Will you be focusing on anything on practice this week?
“We are going to continue to do what we always do; we aren’t going to change much. This was one of our best football games, and we are only going to continue to get better.”

Extra comment:
“I was proud of how they played; they just came out and left it on the football field.”


Junior Starting Quarterback Steven Clark

On the loss:
-“We played our hearts out and we should have had that game, and hats off to Greg for that last drive. He drove us down the field, with not much time on the clock and we just ended up on the short side of a losing battle, but we’ll bounce back this past weekend against Westfield and play out the rest of our season.”

On how players like McGrail-Joyce-Williams-Russell have picked up the pace:
“Although we’ve lost Jesse, he’s a great receiver because he opens a lot of things up, but Joyce and McGrail have definitely stepped it up. They are both our go-to guys in key situations. McGrail had two great catches for touchdowns and Joyce adjusted to what I thought was a bad pass.”
“Williams is a good lead blocker its run blocking, he gets the job done. In losing Bruce, Russell (although he’s a freshman), has done a heck of a job filling in Bruce’s shoes in his absence. I couldn’t be more pleased with him right now. He knows what to do and gets it done.”

On Westfield State next week:
“Westfield always plays us though because everyone is gunning for us”…”It’s just a matter of if we execute it to the best we can or not”…”We (are just going to) take it one week at a time.”


Special team’s player: Jimmy Yaitanes

On the loss:
“Last weekends loss did not feel good. This team has a lot of great talent and we have worked so hard.

On the offense:
“I think the offense played unbelievable. McGrail had a good game and Clarky had some good passes. Chris Joyce had his best game in a Bears uniform and the last drive (of Borsari’s) was not to fail. It’s a tough spot to come into the game cold (passing).”

On bouncing back (versus Westfield):
“It’s always tough to bounce back

On playing the Owls:
“Westfield is a very good team. I think we have a hard week ahead of us, but we don’t like losing. We are going to get it done.”

Extra comment:
“The thing that hurts the most is that everyone on our team rose to the challenge and played the best games I have ever seen. We just came up short.”