BUZZARDS BAY, Mass -- The Bucs men's soccer team hosted the MASCAC Semifinals on Friday night against Westfield State. The Owls reached the semifinal after knocking out Worcester State on Wednesday, 3-1. In the Regular season, the Buccaneers and Owls drew 1-1 in Buzzards Bay. In the semifinal, however, the two teams put up seven goals, two from the Owls in the first half, and then five unanswered by Maritime in the second half, sending the Bucs to the Conference Final against Bridgewater State on Sunday.

The Basics

Final: Buccaneers 5, Owls 2

Records: Maritime 11-4-3

               Westfield 10-4-4

Between the Pipes

Maritime: Tyler George (W, 3-1): 1 SOG | 0 GA | 1 SV | 45 Mins

                Preston Joia: 4 SOG | 2 GA | 2 SV | 45 Mins

Westfield: Marko Kononenko (L, 6-1-2): 11 SOG | 5 GA | 6 SV | 90 Mins

Inside The Numbers

Maritime

• Brody Calvert scored two goals in the Buccaneers' victory.
• John Burke, Thomas O'Neil, and PJ Cullivan all scored once. 
• Harry Cooley was credited with two goals in the match. Joseph Hajjar and Burke each recorded one assist.
• In total, Maritime took 22 shots and 10 corners.

Westfield

• Nick Parakilas scored both Owls goals in the loss.
• Ethan Margolis was credited with an assist on Parakilas's first goal.
• In total, Westfield took 10 shots and three corners.

How It Happened

The Owls took a quick lead in the semifinal; following a foul by the Buccaneers, Margolis set up for a free kick outside the box and delivered a great ball to Parakilas, who snuck it past Joia for a goal, giving Westfield a 1-0 lead in the third minute. With the momentum, Westfield extended their lead to 2-0 in the 20th minute on Parakilas's second goal of the game. The Owls took their commanding 2-0 lead into the halftime. 

In the second half, down two, the Buccaneers got one back in the 47th minute on Calvert's first of the contest on a beautiful pass from Hajjar, making the score 2-1 Owls. 12 Minutes later, Maritime tied the game up on a Burke goal from a free kick from 25 yards out that he buried in the top left corner to bring the score to 2-2. All tied up, the Buccaneers kept their foot on the gas and kept their second-half momentum. In the 75th minute, Maritime took the lead, 3-2, thanks to an O'Neil header that snuck inside the right post off a free kick from Burke. Holding a one-goal advantage, the Bucs added insurance in the 83rd minute on Calvert's second of the match. Up 4-2, Cooley linked up with Cullivan to score Maritime's fifth of the half. The host kept on the ball and ran out the final five minutes of the game and secured their spot in the MASCAC Final with a 5-2 victory.

What's Next

The Buccaneers meet Bridgewater State in Bridgewater on Sunday for the MASCAC Championship at noon.