Salem State Slips Past Fitchburg State, 2-1

Carey leads Falcons defense with double-digit saves

FITCHBURG, Mass. (September 26, 2009) - The Fitchburg State men's soccer team totaled 14 second half shots but could not connect as the Falcons fell, 2-1 to MASCAC rival Salem State College this afternoon.

DENNIS KANE

Fitchburg State dominated the second half of play, creating several opportunities on net, but freshman goalkeeper Scott Hall (Waltham, Mass./Waltham) kept the Falcons out of the net and let the Viking offense do the rest. Throughout the second frame, the Falcons peppered the rookie netminder, but Hall collected three key-diving saves to end the Falcons scoring threat.

Salem State also created ample opportunities in the action packed second half as sophomore Owen Quane (Weymouth, Mass./Weymouth) found himself one-on-one with keeper Matt Carey (Stratford, Conn./Bunnell) but Quane popped it over the goal. After two more attempts on net, the Vikings finally broke the scoring drought as Jared Barbosa (Lowell, Mass./Nashua) took a bang-bang pass from Andrew Angus (Boston, Mass./Charlestown) and slipped it inside the far left post for his first score of the season.

The Vikings jumped out to an early one goal lead as sophomore Raphael Santos (Brazil/Boston Latin) connected for his fourth goal of the year just 9:50 into the match. Fitchburg State quickly answered as junior Kevin Mascary (N. Easton, Mass./Oliver Ames) notched a brilliant pass as he threaded the needle and connected with freshman Dennis Kane (Monson, Mass./Monson) for his first collegiate score.

The Falcons came close to knotting the score in the last ten seconds of the game, but sophomore Brian Bettencourt's (Norton, Mass./Norton) blast from 15 yards out sailed high just over the net as time expired.

Salem State held a slim 24-21 advantage in shots with both teams receiving three corner kicks. Carey notched ten saves in net for the Falcons, while Hall matched his performance with ten stops for the Vikings.

Fitchburg State (1-5-2, 0-1-1 MASCAC) will be in action again next Saturday as it travels to Bridgewater State College at 12 p.m. Salem State (4-2-0, 2-0-0 MASCAC) will travel to Eastern Connecticut State University on Tuesday at 4 p.m.

CLICK HERE FOR BOX SCORE & PLAY-BY-PLAY

Salem State 2, Fitchburg State 1

Scoring:
First Half: SSC: Raphael Santos (Andrew Angus), 9:50; FIT: Dennis Kane (Kevin Mascary), 16:01;  
Second Half: Jared Barboza (Angus), 88:03
Goaltending: Matt Carey (90:00), nine saves; CLK: Ryan King (90:00), one save
Shots: FIT: 21; SSC: 24