Fitchburg State Falls At Salem State, 1-0 (2OT)

Salem, MA—Salem State University defeated the Fitchburg State Falcons 1-0 in a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference game on Saturday afternoon at Alumni Field. The Vikings (2-12) took advantage of an own goal scored by the Falcons late in the second overtime to snap a six-game losing streak. Salem State moves to 2-12 on the season and 2-4 in conference while Fitchburg State (1-1-4) loses its first conference game, and slips to 6-5-5 on the year.

Much of the first half was played in the Vikings' end, and the Falcons had the best scoring chance of the half when a shot off a corner kick hit the crossbar. Fitchburg State outshot the Vikings 5-1 in the period, but went into halftime with the score tied 0-0.

The second half continued to be highly contested, with limited scoring chances, but late in the half the Vikings' Matt Figueiredo(Wilmington, MA) had a late rush on goal and blasted a kick that hit off crossbar. Fitchburg State had one final chance, but a shot by Jared Burns (E. Bridgewater, MA) sailed high. The game would go to a first overtime where Salem State managed the only shot on goal by either team. In double overtime,Brandon Alicea (Ashburnham, MA) had a direct shot on net for Salem State, but Fitchburg State goalie Aidan Hanratty (E. Bridgewater, MA) made a diving save to keep the game scoreless. The contest appeared to be headed for a tie, but with less than ten seconds remaining in the game a Falcons' defender inadvertently kicked the ball into his own net that gave Salem State the surprise victory.

Nondas Kargakis (Herkalion, Greece) had seven saves for the Vikings and Hanratty made one stop for Fitchburg State.

The Falcons outshot the Vikings 11-5, and held a 13-3 advantage in corners.

Salem State will play Southern Maine at home on Tuesday at 6:00 PM while Fitchburg State is at Springfield College this Wednesday evening at 7:00 PM.