Salem State Rolls Past Fitchburg State, 3-1

Miller boasts hat-trick in Vikings first victory of the season

SALEM, Mass. (September 18, 2010) – The Fitchburg State men's soccer team opened its 2010 league play this afternoon, falling to Salem State University, 3-1 in MASCAC action at Alumni Field.

Senior David Miller (Lancaster, Pa./Lancaster) single handedly led Salem State to its first victory of the year, registering a hat-trick for his first goals of the season. The Vikings controlled the pitch early on, posting 16 shots on net in the first half. Junior Rafael Santos (East Boston, Mass./Boston Latin) led the Vikings with six targets.

LIONSO VENTURA

The Vikings opened the scoring just 9:47 into the contest as sophomore Lamin Sawo (Saugus, Mass./Saugus) connected with Miller for the first goal of the game. Fitchburg State rallied back however as senior Lionso Ventura (Westminster, Mass./Oakmont) sent a high kick over senior Luis Marques' (Fall River, Mass./Portugal) 6'3" reach. Ventura's unassisted marker was his team-leading third of the season, sending the game into the break and a 1-1 tie.

In the second frame, Miller put Salem State up 2-1 at the 52:50 mark as the senior forward sent a diving header to the back of the net off an Owen Quane (Weymouth, Mass./Weymouth) assist. In the 70th minute, the Vikings received another opportunity on net as Miller was called upon to take a Salem State penalty kick after a Fitchburg State penalty inside the box. Miller capitalized on the opportunity, securing his hat-trick and the Vikings 3-1 victory.

For the contest, Salem State held a 24-12 advantage on the offensive end with a 7-3 margin in corner kicks. Marques earned the win the victory for the Vikings, turning away three of four shots on goal, while senior Alex Ivanov (Carlisle, Mass./Concord-Carlisle) stopped seven shots for the Falcons. .

Fitchburg State (1-5-0, 0-1-0 MASCAC) will be in action next Saturday as it hosts Bridgewater State at 6 p.m. Salem State (1-2-2-, 1-0-0 MASCAC) will travel to UMass Boston on Tuesday at 3:30 p.m.

CLICK HERE FOR BOX SCORE & PLAY-BY-PLAY

Salem State 3, Fitchburg State 1

Scoring:
1st Half: SSU: David Miller (Lamin Sawo), 9:47; FIT: Lionso Ventura, 23:35;
2nd Half: SSU: Miller (Owen Quane), 52:50; SSU: Miller, 70:15;
Goalkeeping: FIT: Alex Ivanov (90:00), seven saves; SSU: Luis Marques (90:00), three saves;
Shots: FIT: 12; SSU: 24