Mens' Soccer Advances Over Buccaneers In Quarterfinal Round Action

Guzman nets hat trick for Green and Gold

Fitchburg, MA– The third seeded Falcons of Fitchburg State defeated the sixth seeded Buccaneers of Mass. Maritime Academy, 4-0 this afternoon in quarterfinal round action of the 2024 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) action from Elliot Field.

The Basics

Score: Fitchburg State 4, Mass. Maritime 0

Records: Fitchburg State (9-7-3, 3-2-2 MASCAC), Mass. Maritime (3-12-1, 2-4-1 MASCAC)

How It Happened

Fitchburg State opened the scoring at the 14:14 mark with freshman Ajani Guzman (Leominster, MA) collecting a feed from classmate Justin Job (Worcester, MA) and fired a shot into the right side of the net for his fourth tally of the year for the 1-0 edge.

Mass. Maritime nearly knotted the score in the 29th minute of action when sophomore Brody Calvert (Windsor, MA) was awarded a penalty kick, but Falcon keeper Alexander Carvalho (North Providence, RI) made the sprawling save to preserve the 1-0 lead.

Following the intermission, the Falcons doubled the lead as Guzman found the back of the net for his second tally of the contest to make the score 2-0. The Green and Gold pushed the lead 3-0 at the 51:30 mark with sophomore Julian Correia-Estrada (Nashua, NH) collected a pass from Guzman and buried a shot into the back of the net for his first collegiate tally.

Fitchburg State secured the victory in the 68th minute when Guzman deposited the shot inside the near post for his third score of the contest off an assist from newcomer William Badger (Attleboro, MA), resulting in the 4-0 final.

Inside the Numbers

• This afternoon's contest marked the 48th meeting between the Falcons of Fitchburg State and the Buccaneers of Mass. Maritime with the Falcons 27-12-9 all time when taking on the Buccaneers
• Mass. Maritime finished with a 21-12 advantage in shots
• The Falcons held a 4-3 margin in corner kicks
• Sophomore Alexander Carvalho (North Providence, RI) stopped 12 shots for the Falcons
• Freshman Preston Joai (Mashpee, MA) made five saves for the Buccaneers
• Sophomore Julian Correia-Estrada collected his first collegiate tally for the Green and Gold

Up Next

Falcons return to action on Friday as they travel to Westfield State to take on the Owls in a MASCAC semifinal, starting at 7:00PM.

STAY CONNECTED:

- For the latest on Fitchburg State University Athletics, follow the Falcons via social media on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.