Men’s Soccer Wins
SALEM — Mayele Malango (Lowell, Mass.) and Nahuel Aligbay (Leominster, Mass.) each recorded a goal and a pair of assists as Salem State used four second half scores to defeat MCLA 4-0 in a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) match on Saturday afternoon at Alumni Field. The Vikings improve to 9-5 and clinch the MASCAC title outright with a perfect 6-0 record. The Trailblazers go to 5-10 overall and 2-4 in conference.
A scoreless first half yielded minimal scoring chances as MCLA played conservative, keeping extra defenders back to help limit Salem State offensively.
The Vikings broke through in the 53rd minute as Nahuel Aligbay (Leominster, Mass.) chipped a pass over the defense into the box, which allowed Grace Dos Santos (Brockton, Mass.) to head the ball past keeper Kamron Anderson (Springfield, Mass.) for the game’s first goal.
Joao DeSouza (Lowell, Mass.) increased the lead to 2-0 after Mayele Malango (Lowell, Mass.) beat the defense and set up DeSouza with a cross that the freshman converted into his first goal of the year.
MCLA’s best scoring opportunity came in the 60th minute as Romeo Gray (Mashpee, Mass.) broke free, but was stoned by keeper Chris Jimenez (Nashua, N.H.) who then made a second diving save on a rebound attempt by Oscar Castro (Middle Island, N.Y.).
Malango set up the Vikings’ third goal as his shot from just outside the box was saved by Anderson, however the rebound went straight to Aligbay, who knocked in the shot for his sixth goal in the 66th minute. Aligbay returned the favor less than three minutes later as he feathered a pass to Malango along the left sideline, who then beat the Trailblazers keeper with a shot that snuck just inside the lower right post.
Jimenez made four saves for Salem State in the win. Gus Savage (Georgetown, Mass.) came in after halftime and finished the game without making a save. Anderson stopped four shots for MCLA, which was outshot 11-6 for the game.
Salem State Women’s Soccer Wins
NORTH ADAMS – The visiting Salem State women’s soccer team got a goal from Casey McFall (Wilmington, Mass.) in the 80th minute to upend the MCLA Trailblazers on senior day 1-0 in MASCAC action. With the win, the Vikings improve to 9-5-1 overall and sit at 4-2 in the league. The Trailblazers fall to 3-10 overall and are 2-4 in the conference.
Neither team generated much offense in the opening half. Salem held a 9-0 shot advantage after 45 minutes of action, however they couldn’t get a ball past MCLA’s Megan Richardson.
The story didn’t change for much of the second half, although each side had a few opportunities. It wasn’t until McFall’s game winner that someone broke through. SSU was pressuring deep in the MCLA zone when they forced a Trailblazer turnover. The ball came right to McFall, who after a good one touch, drilled a shot into the left corner for her eighth goal of the season and a 1-0 lead for the Vikings.
MCLA got one shot off in the final minutes of play, however it was from long range and Salem’s Rebecca Sabino (Beverly, Mass.) notched the shutout.
Salem ended with a decisive 19-4 shot advantage over the Trailblazers, but just a 4-1 mark in corners. Sabino collected 2 saves for her fourth win of the season.
Richardson stopped five shots for MCLA in absorbing the loss.
Prior to kickoff, MCLA honored their six seniors in Molly Gurner, Ally Ferrell, Sychiah Johnson, Brittany Whitford, Aleah Sangiovanni, and Allison Davey.
The Trailblazers will host Nichols College at 6pm on Monday night in their final regular season home match.
Salem State Field Hockey Falls
SALEM, MASS. — Molly Richard (Leominster, Mass.) earned a hat-trick and Aislinn DeHorsey (Leominster, Mass.) and Casey Noonan (Feeding Hills, Mass.) combined for four goals and five assists as Fitchburg State topped Salem State 8-3 in a Little East Conference match on Saturday afternoon. The Falcons even their record at 8-8 and improve to 5-6 in conference. The Vikings lose their fifth in a row, and slip to 2-13 and 1-10 in conference.
Salem State honored seniors Marissa Penge (Liverpool, N.Y.), Courtney Kilgore (Wakefield, Mass.) and captain Julia Klein (Liverpool, N.Y.) in a ceremony before the game for their commitment and dedication to the program over the past four years.
Noonan put Fitchburg State up 1-0 just thirty-nine seconds into the match as she found a loose ball in front of the net and beat goalie Gabriella Cerro (Beverly, Mass.). DeHorsey increased the lead to 2-0 as she scored her first of the game in the 10th minute.
Casie Curtin (Wrentham, Mass.) cut the deficit to 2-1 as she scored her first of the year from 10-yards out. However, Fitchburg State scored three unanswered goals to end the half in building a 5-1 lead at intermission. DeHorsey scored her second of the game before Richard netted two scores over the final 14 minutes of the period.
Richard continued her streak as she opened the second half with her third straight goal of the game. Noonan added her second of the contest less than a minute later and the Falcons opened up a 7-1 advantage just over three minutes into the second. Penge got one back for the Vikings in the 44th minute and Curtin punched in her second of the contest in the 66th minute before Fitchburg State’s Chloe Gladu (North Reading, Mass.) closed the scoring with a goal in the 69th minute that made the final 8-3.
Rhiannon Fletcher (Royalston, Mass.) picked up the win in goal for the Falcons, making five saves in one-half of work. Kasey Mammone (Leominster, Mass.) stopped two shots in relief. Cerro turned away five shots before being replaced by Victoria Kako (Salem, Mass.), who made three saves in 18 minutes of action.
Salem State Volleyball
BOSTON — Salem State entertained UMaine-Presque Isle and Emerson in a tri-meet hosted by the Lions on Saturday afternoon. The Vikings opened up with a win over the Owls (25-19, 27-25,26-24) before losing to Emerson (25-16, 25-13, 25-23) in the second game. Salem State is now 11-12 on the season while Emerson evens their record at 12-12. UMaine Presque Isle now stands at 11-18.
In the win over UMaine-Presque Isle, Mackenzie Salls (Turners Falls, Mass.) compiled 25 assists and seven aces while Olivia Swiatek (Rockland, Mass.) recorded 21 digs for the Vikings. Samantha Chaisson (Duxbury, Mass.) and Maddi O’Connor (Hamilton, Mass.) each led Salem State with eight kills.
The Vikings held off UMaine-Presque Isle in a closely contested first set as three consecutive service aces to close the set by Salls sealed the win. After winning a tightly contested second set, the Vikings held off a late charge by the Owls to complete the sweep. Salem State led 9-0 at the start, but UMaine-Presque Isle battled back, tying the match at 23-all. However, with the game tied at 24, Chaisson came through with back-to-back kills for the 26-24 win.
Maddi Thweatt (Middleton, Idaho) led the Owls with 10 kills and 19 digs while Brittney Harper (East Mountain, Nova Scotia) had 22 assists
In game two against Emerson, both Jasmine Severino (Lawrence, Mass.) and Chaisson each recorded five kills, while Salls had 16 assists, Morgan Adams (Scotia, N.Y.) served two aces and Hannah Mullarkey (Salem, Mass.) had 11 digs. The Lions saw three players register double digits in kills, including 13 for Grace Tepper (Kensington, Md.), 11 for Fara Cohen (Morristown, N.J.) and 10 for sophomore Jamie Groele (Chelmsford, Mass.).
Emerson racked up a .419 hit percentage to snag the 25-16 triumph over Salem State within the first set and grab a 1-0 match lead. In the second set, the score was in an 8-all knot after an 4-0 run by Salem State until Emerson surged for the following 11 points to stretch its biggest lead into double figures at 19-8. Emerson continued to hold Salem State within a comfortable distance of nine at 22-13 and upped its match lead to 2-0 after a pair of kills and a Vikings attack error closed out the 25-13 win. Emerson had a four point lead at 10-6 erased and saw Salem State square the score four times, the last time at 14-all before the hosts produced the following five points to claim the 19-14 lead off a swing from Guerra.
After the Lions had a five point cushion at 22-17, the Vikings threatened and earned the next six of nine points to close within one at 24-22, yet it was the Lions who held on and sealed the sweep on a Vikings service error.
