Varela’s Late Goal Sinks Bunker Hill, 1-0

BROCKTON, Mass. ---- Goalie Andre Reis (Fall River, Mass.) made 10 saves and Ruben Varela (Brockton, Mass.) netted the game's only goal in the closing minutes as the Massasoit Community College men's soccer team escaped with a 1-0 victory vs. Bunker Hill CC on Wednesday.

At the 87:43 mark in the second half, Varela gathered a blocked shot off the foot of Joao Cardoso (Brockton, Mass.) in front of the goal and beat the Bunker Hill keeper to find the back of the net. The goal was the second of the season for Varela.

"The opportunities were there all day for both teams. I thought that we had better opportunities, but we didn't put them away early on," head coach Rui Estrela said. "The kids worked hard and this is a good team we played. It's a win. I wish we played a little bit cleaner, but we have some things to work on moving forward."

With the win Massasoit improved to 3-2-2 overall on the season.

Bunker Hill outshot the Warriors 29 to 12, but many of the attempts by the Bulldogs were not on target.

Reis finished with 10 saves in goal for Massasoit, including an impressive outstretched stop in the 61^st minute to keep the game in a scoreless tie.

"I think we were a little sloppy at the beginning of the game, but we settled down," Reis said. "Bunker Hill was a good team. We worked hard as a team and I just tried to keep us in the game."

For Reis it marked his second clean sheet of the season and the 10 saves set a career-high.

"(Andre's) been stepping up great for us ever since last week against Monroe College and he made some great saves today," Estrela said. "He was at the right place at the right time and he did the right things when we needed it. He's been big for us the last two games."

The Warriors return to the field on Saturday with a home match against Springfield Tech CC. Game time is set for 1 p.m.