WESTFIELD, Mass. – Westfield State first-year midfielder Ethan Margolis (Wakefield, Mass.) scored the game-tying goal midway through the second half, then fired home the penalty-kick winner to send the Owls to the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference Championship game over Salem State in a conference semifinal match from Alumni Field in Westfield, Mass. on Friday night.
The Owls will face top-seeded Bridgewater State in the conference title game on the road at noon. Westfield won the penalty shootout 4-2 after the game was unable to be decided after two ten-minute overtime periods.
Dylan Senra (Dartmouth, Mass.) put the Vikings ahead in the penalty shootout, then the Owls scored four-straight goals, punctuated by Margolis who rocketed a shot into the left-upper 90 to secure the win. The Owls trailed 1-0 in the shootout before Luke Theroux (Chicopee, Mass.) made a spectacular diving save to punch the ball off the post and out of play, then Paul Whalley (Southwick, Mass.) calmly netted his PK attempt to even it at one apiece.
Michael Flynn (Dedham, Mass.) and Devonte Livramento (Brockton, Mass.) traded goals then a miss from the Vikings swung the lead in the Owls favor after Carter Hebert (Easthampton, Mass.) deposited his attempt.
Westfield overcame two separate one-goal deficits as Salem scored the lone tally of the first half. Brendan Davis (Dracut, Mass.) carried the ball down the sideline where he managed to tap a pass to Aaron O'Toole (Quincy, Mass.) who fired home the game's opening score 16:13 into play.
The Vikings maintained their one goal lead until the 61st minute where Margolis centered a ball into the box off the head of Santino Mazza (East Longmeadow, Mass.) who headed it to himself twice with the second one beating Salem keeper Matt Hauntsman (Milford, N.H.) to the far post.
In the 74th minute, a free kick attempt for Salem dangerously entered the box where O'Toole directed a shot on net that was tipped home off the head of Michael Flynn (Dedham, Mass.) to give the Vikings a lead with less than 16 minutes to play.
Westfield wasted no time finding the equalizer, responding 52 seconds later with Margolis at the center of the scoring once again, corralling a misplayed ball by Salem, then lofting a shot from the top of the box that grazed the bottom of the crossbar and into the back of the net.
After the Margolis tally, the game remained tied at two heading into the overtime frames where neither team was able to convert. Theroux made a pair of critical saves in the opening overtime period, then Hauntsman saved his lone shot on net faced in the extra period.
The Vikings ended up outshooting the Owls in the match 23-18, with shots on goal finishing even at nine each. Theroux piled up seven saves for Westfield. Hauntsman stopped six shots on goal for Salem.
Westfield State (7-7-2) seeks their first conference championship since 2012 and will travel to Bridgewater State to face the top-seeded Bears on Sunday at noon. Salem State's season comes to a close after the penalty kick decision.