Mikayla Mason Scores Game Winner in 1-0 Victory Over Bears

Jose Rodriguez '24, Staff Writer | Media & Communications

SALEM, Mass. -On Thursday night at Alumni Field, Salem State began their MASCAC season with a 1-0 shutout victory over Bridgewater State. The win improved Salem State's record to 2-4, 1-0, while Bridgewater State fell to 3-2-1, 0-1.  

Prior to the game, coach Atkinson talked about the stretch of playing 10 of the next 11 games in conference. "That's what matters for us. Due or die it is the conference games. This portion of our season is the biggest part. The beginning (of the season) has been preparing us, although our scores haven't really shown our improvement of where we are at…"    

Both teams started the game competitively, with Salem State gaining momentum in the first period as they pushed the ball into the Bears' zone. The Vikings had a breakaway opportunity, but were unable to capitalize. 

In the second period,  only four minutes in, Izzy Mosley (Middleborough, Mass.) made an excellent save, kicking the ball away with her left leg. The Bears were attacking the Vikings' zone, and Melanie Mason (Beverly, Mass.) slid to block a shot during a corner kick.  

After two periods of play, neither team had scored, and the game remained evenly matched. The Bears had five shots on goal, while the Vikings had only one. At the start of the third period, both teams were determined to break the scoreless tie. Madison Ellis (Attleborough, Mass.) attempted to score, but her shot was denied by Vikings goaltender Mosley, who made a right leg kick save to keep the score at bay. Salem State then had a chance to score when Melanie Mason, passed the ball to her twin sister, Mikayla Mason (Beverly, Mass.), who almost scored.  

After the game coach Atkinson talked about the team's missed chances to add points on the board. "We were struggling with scoring the other day. We were getting it in our zone and we just get frantic, we get flustered and we go reverse a lot instead of going strong. We tend to lose the idea of possession, which kind of happens, although we had a lot of opportunity with corners…"    

After three full periods, the game was still scoreless. The Vikings began the fourth period with two straight penalty corners. Salem State finally broke the scoreless tie when Erin Power (Byfield, Mass.) was sent off, giving the Vikings a one-player advantage. With just 5:36 remaining in regulation, Mikayla Mason scored the only goal of the game.  

After the game Mason talked about how the team's momentum will carry on to Saturday. "I feel tonight was a big step for us to have a great start to the season and with good conference games coming up, we should have a nice couple of series of games."  

After the game Mosley talked about her first career collegiate shutout victory. "It is a great feeling. I felt really proud of the team. It was a big collective effort. They pushed at the end to get the ball into the back of the net. Defensively we all worked really hard tonight. I was happy that we got the win."   

Mosley finished with nine saves while Bridgewater State's Catherine Daoulas (Marshfield, Mass.) made eight saves. 

The Vikings will continue MASCAC play this Saturday when they take on the Framingham State Rams. The game is scheduled to start at 3:00 p.m.