ZACK CARLSON
FITCHBURG – The Fitchburg State men’s soccer dropped a hard-fought Massachusetts State College Athletic Conference (MASCAC) battle to the Owls of Westfield State, 1-0 at Elliot Field this afternoon.
Westfield State jumped ahead in the middle of the eighteenth minute when senior midfielder Zack Carlson potted his first goal of the season, heading the ball just under the cross bar for the 1-0 advantage.
The Green and Gold had plenty of opportunities throughout the first half of play, edging the visitors, 9-to-5 on shots during the opening 45 minutes, but were unable find the back of the net as the Owls took a 1-0 lead into the locker room.
Following intermission, the Falcons best scoring opportunity of the game came with 11:30 remaining when senior Steven Martinez fired a shot near post that Owls keeper Alex Kraver deflected away from goal on to the foot of junior Zachary Young, who chipped a shot just over the net, resulting in the 1-0 final.
Throughout the game, Fitchburg State held a 15-10 edge in shots, while the Owls finished with a 7-4 advantage in corner kicks. In between the pipes, junior Alex Al-Zaibak turned away five shots for the Falcons in the complete game effort, while Kraver made six saves for the Owls, en-route to the clean sheet.
Freshman forward Zacahry Pesetsky finished the contest with a game-high four shots for Fitchburg State, while senior Nicholas Masley and sophomore Marckdonard Bastien added two shots each.
For Westfield State, sophomore Brodie Keene and Carlson totaled three shots each, while junior Connor Gilbert collected two shots for the visitors. – Story courtesy Fitchburg State sports info
