Men’s Soccer Eliminated by Mass. Maritime in MASCAC Semis

WESTFIELD, Mass. – Senior forward Nick Parakilas (Broad Brook, Conn.) scored twice in the first half, but Westfield State surrendered five second-half goals to Mass. Maritime, falling in a MASCAC semifinal match from Buzzards Bay, Mass. on Friday night.

The Buccaneers (11-4-3) advance into the MASCAC Championship game where they will travel to top-seeded Bridgewater State on Sunday at noon. The Owls (10-4-4) attempt as repeat conference champions ends, tallying the most wins in a single season since the 2011 season.

The Owls got the scoring started 2:21 into the match with the Parakilas marker coming off a free kick. Ethan Margolis (Wakefield, Mass.) served a 35-yard free kick directly into the center of the goalie box where Parakilas was able to step in front of a Buccaneers defender to tap home his 21^st goal of the year inside the left post.

Parakilas nearly had a second goal minutes later with his headed shot off a corner kick by Dylan Wesley (Aawam, Mass.), squarely hitting the crossbar.

Halfway through the opening period, Parakilas capitalized on a Mass. Maritime miscue in the back by intercepting an attempted clear on a long ball sent in by Wesley. Parakilas gained possession and was one-on-one with the keeper, directing a high shot that caught the upper twine of the net to double the Owls lead.

Parakilas caps a sensational season for Westfield, collecting 22 goals on the season which is second in all of Division III. The 22 tallies is tied with Owls Hall of Famer Milian Keser '65 for the fifth-most goals in a single season.   

In the second half, the field slanted in the Buccaneers favor, outshooting the Owls 15-4 while quickly trimming Westfield's two-goal advantage.

The Buccaneers leading goal scorer Brody Calvert (Windsor, Mass.) scored two minutes into the second half on a reload cross from Joseph Hajjar (Abington, Mass.), getting by a group of players at the front post to Calvert who tucked home his 14th of the season.

Owls keeper Marko Kononenko (Kyiv, Ukraine) came up with a critical stop inside the 57^th minute, diving to his right to stop a low liner from Calvert.

However, with less than 32 to go in the half, the Buccaneers found an equalizer, taking advantage of a 25-yard free kick which resulted in a perfectly placed shot by John Burke (Hull, Mass.) which lodged into the upper-90 of the frame.

The offensive surge for Mass. Maritime continued, scoring off another free kick after an Owls foul. Burke sent another dangerous ball into right side of the penalty area to the head of Thomas O'Neil (Quincy, Mass.), who converged with another Maritime player and directed a low shot past a diving Kononenko and into the goal with about 15 to play in the match.

Mass. Maritime would add two insurance markers to put the match out of reach with Calvert and PJ Cullivan (Weymouth, Mass.) scoring within minutes of each other inside the final ten minutes.