Salem State Knocks Off Rivier 12-8

SALEM, Mass. - Freshman Preston Dougherty (Upton, Mass.) shined in his college debut, scoring five goals with two assists in the Salem State Vikings 12-8 win over the Rivier Raiders at Alumni Field on Friday night in Salem State's home opener . The net seemed twice as big for Dougherty as he ripped apart Rivier's defense. The Vikings took care of business to begin the year 1-0. The Raiders drop to 0-2 on the season.

Goal Scorers:

Dougherty (5), Danny Antonellis (Westfield, Mass.) (2), Kevin Albert (Canton, Mass.) (2), Nick Quirk (Fitchburg, Mass.) (2), Drew Worthley (Saugus, Mass.) (1) all goals scored by Salem State.

Jacob Enwright (Dracut, Mass.) (5), Kyle Newman (Merrimack, NH) (2), Jeffrey Potter (North Bennington, VT) (1) all goals scored by Rivier.

It was an even first half, as the teams were tied 5-5 with 6:00 left in the second quarter. In the last minute, Antonellis passed the ball ahead to Worthley whose shot towards the top of the net gave the Vikings a 6-5 lead heading into halftime.

In the first half, Salem State had an advantage in shot attempts, 21-13. Enwright and Dougherty each had three goals in the first half for their respective teams.

Salem State scored six unanswered goals spanning from 6:00 left in the second quarter up until the first 30 seconds of the fourth quarter. Antonellis scored or assisted on four goals during this stretch to push the Vikings in front. Salem State led 10-5 with 14:30 remaining in the fourth quarter.

Newman's goal finally stopped the bleeding for Rivier as they were in a 10-6 hole with 12:24 to go in the game. Towards the end of the game, both teams traded goals before Salem State settled for a 12-8 victory.

For shots, the Vikings had 32 of their 44 shot attempts on target. The Raiders shot 16 of their 24 shot attempts on goal.

Cody Allard (Ashby, Mass.) made some great defensive plays throughout the game with his physicality and awareness coming up with four caused turnovers.

The Vikings' goalie Jack Ganter (Lynnfield, Mass.) helped protect the lead for his squad allowing eight goals and making eight saves. Ganter becomes 1-0 on the year. The Raiders' goalie Ben Fitzpatrick (Stoneham, Mass.) ended with 12 goals allowed and 19 saves. Fitzpatrick's record in goal on the season is 0-2.