Vikings End Regular Season With 1-0 Win Over Westfield State

WESTFIELD, Mass. – Salem State defeated Westfield State 1-0 on Saturday in a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference matchup at Alumni Field in Westfield, Massachusetts. The win secured the second seed for the Vikings, who improved to 11-4-2 overall, 5-1-1 in the MASCAC, in next weeks conference post-season tournament. The Owls fall to 3-9-5 overall and 2-4-1 in the MASCAC.

The lone goal of the game was flushed home in the first half by Vikings first-year midfielder Gabriel DaSilva (Woburn, Mass.) after a sharp through ball from junior forward Aaron O'Toole (Quincy, Mass.) that cut the defense in half, then found a cutting DaSilva who rifled a low shot past Owls' goalkeeper Drew Adams (North Attleboro, Mass.) into the bottom left corner of the net.

Westfield State fought for several of their scoring chances, outshooting Salem State 21 to 16. The Owls best scoring chance came from first-year defensemen Ryan Denehy (Littleton, Mass.), on a three-on-two fast break. His shot from outside the box rifled just past the crossbar.

The game was particularly chippy, as there was a total of four penalty cards on the day. 

Salem State held the edge on corner kicks, four to Westfield's three. Vikings also held the save advantage, deflecting a total of six shots on net, to the Owls five.

Matt Hauntsman (Milford, N.H.) stopped six shots for his league-lead tying fifth shutout. The Owls shared goalkeeping duties between Drew Adams and Emilio Mancuso (Ludlow, Mass.), who combined for five saves.