Women’s Soccer Meets Familiar Foe in Conference Semifinals

WESTFIELD, Mass. – Second-seeded Westfield State women's soccer will host a MASCAC Semifinal game against third-seeded Bridgewater State from Alumni Field tonight at 7:00 P.M. with a trip to the MASCAC Championship at stake.

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The Owls earned a bye in the first round of the conference tournament after posting a 6-0-2 conference mark (7-5-6 overall) while the Bears (5-7-5, 5-1-2 MASCAC) role into the semifinal match after a thrilling penalty shootout victory over sixth-seeded Fitchburg State on Wednesday night.

The two sides are no strangers to one another when the calendar flips to November as tonight's match will mark the third straight season in which the two teams have faced each other in the playoffs. The previous two occasions have come a stage further in the MASCAC Championship game.

Last year, the Bears shook off an early goal by Kiana Muratsuka (Wahiawa, Hawaii), scoring three consecutive goals to punch their ticket into the NCAA Tournament with a 3-2 decision. The year before that, Westfield capped a run of three straight conference titles, defeating the Bears 2-1 in the title match. Westfield or Bridgewater has won the last four conference titles, signifying a heavyweight matchup on hand for tonight.

The regular season tilt between the Owls and Bears ended in a 1-1 draw at Bridgewater on September 27. Neither team found consistent footing on the offensive side with the Owls holding the Bears to just four total shots. Westfield had 10 total shots for the game, their lowest output in any league match. First-year forward Liv DeMember (West Boylston, Mass.) gave the Owls a 1-0 lead 20 minutes into the action and would hold that slim advantage all the way until the 72^nd minute where Olivia Robarge netted the equalizer.

Westfield has proven to be a difficult team to score against, particularly in conference play as the Owls hold a plus-15 goal differential in eight league matches, allowing just two goals as opposed to 17 goals scored. The Owls have shut out six different MASCAC opponents including number one seed Worcester State whose lone conference defeat came against the Owls.

DeMember leads the Owls with four goals and 11 points, adding three assists to a fine rookie season. Muratsuka and versatile sweeper Kylie Tomasetti (Northborough, Mass.) each have recorded three goals. The Owls are allowing 1.06 goals against overall and have a stable presence in net in senior Julia Robak (Chicopee, Mass.) who enters tournament play with a MASCAC-low 0.78 goals against average. Her .844 save percentage also ranks second in the league. She will backstop the Owls playoff run for a third straight season.

For the Bears, all eyes will be on the availability of their two top scorers: Robarge and Jenna Sweeney. Both standouts missed the quarterfinal match against the Falcons, but the team's depth was on display throughout, particularly in penalty tries where the Bears went five-for-five with Kacey Parker netting the game-winner.

Robarge leads the conference with eight goals and 18 points while Sweeney tallied four goals and three assists during the regular season. Robarge has found success against a stingy Owls defense in recent matches, scoring four goals in the last three games against Westfield, including two in the title match last year.

Senior goalkeeper Logan Levesque has started in all but one match for Bridgewater, collecting a 1.42 goals against and an .815 save percentage in 16 starts with seven shutouts.

In the other MASCAC semifinal match, top-seeded Worcester State hosts fifth-seeded Framingham State at 6:00 P.M. The Lancers earned the conference regular season title after a 7-1 conference mark, securing a first-round bye. The Rams defeated fourth-seeded Salem State in a penalty shootout to advance through to the semis.

The winners of the two semifinal matches will meet in the MASCAC Championship game on Sunday with the highest remaining seed hosting the match.