Men’s Soccer, Fitchburg State Remain Tied in Standings Following 1-1 Draw

MCLA and Fitchburg State tied 1-1 tonight in an important MASCAC Men’s Soccer match.

Marcos Lopez converted a penalty kick in the 9th minute tonight to help MCLA draw 1-1 with Fitchburg State. (Photo: Anthony Andolina)
Marcos Lopez converted a penalty kick in the 9th minute tonight to help MCLA draw 1-1 with Fitchburg State. (Photo: Anthony Andolina)
October 20, 2023
Video Box Score

NORTH ADAMS, Mass.— In a pivotal battle for the last conference play-off spot the MCLA Soccer team and Fitchburg State played to a hard fought 1-1 draw tonight at Shewcraft Field.  

THE BASICS:

  • Date: Friday, October 20, 2023
  • Score: Fitchburg State 1, MCLA 1
  • Records: Fitchburg State 4-9-3 (MASCAC 1-3-2) | MCLA 5-6-2 (MASCAC 1-3-2)

HIGHLIGHTS

  • An MCLA breakout in the 9th minute forced Fitchburg keeper Luke Speers to trip up Marcos Lopez in the box to save a likely goal. Lopez calmly buried the penalty kick in the bottom right corner of the net to put the Trailblazers up 1-0.
  • Following a Falcon corner kick and a mad scramble in front of the net, Fitchburg State's Jorge Alvarez punched home the equalizer in the 28th minute to make it 1-1.
  • Though Fitchburg held the possession advantage in the second half it was MCLA who had the best scoring opportunities including two late sharp angled chances by Jacob Malburg and Lopez.
  • Members of the 1973 North Adams State College Men's Soccer team were honored at halftime to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the program's first MASCAC Championship.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

  • Fitchburg State held a significant advantage in both shots (21-8) and corner kicks (11-4).
  • The converted penalty kick was the 3rd goal of the season for Lopez.
  • Trailblazers' keeper Oliver Le Lacheur (T, 1-1-1) made seven stops while Falcon goalie Luke Spears (T, 3-7-2) made four saves.

UP NEXT:

Fitchburg State is off until next Saturday when they host Framingham State at 11am while MCLA visits Eastern Connecticut State University in a non-conference matchup Tuesday at 3pm.