Salem State Pulls Away for 13-9 Victory

Jose Rodriguez '24, Staff Writer | Media & Communications

SALEM, Mass.- Connor Vittands (Gloucester, Mass.) scored five goals to secure a 13-9 victory for Salem State over Husson University on Saturday afternoon at Alumni Field. The Vikings improve their record to 3-2, while the Eagles' record dropped to 3-4.

Vittands led the Vikings with an impressive five goals and an assist, while Cameron Collins (Peabody, Mass.) picked up five groundball. Additionally, Collins and Jack Seward-Dailey (Sheffield, Mass.) combined to cause ten turnovers, each recording five apiece. Ryan Cohen registered 20 out of 29 saves.

Jacob Sargent (Topsham, Maine) scored twice for the Eagles, Odin Burk (Hightstown, N.J.)  had five groundballs and Trenton Montana (Danville, CA) contributed five caused turnovers. Burk registered 17 out of 30 saves.

The first goal of the game came from Vittands, who shot the ball from the right side of the net off an excellent pass from Kyle Tammaro (Saugus, Mass.) at the 13:24 mark. 

At the 7:38 mark, Collins sprinted into the Eagles' zone and found Cameron Smith (Beverly, Mass.) to extend the Vikings' lead, with Smith being credited for the assist. However, the Eagles managed to cut the deficit when Matt Boynton (Gardiner, Mass.) scored to make the game 3-1. Salem State responded quickly, as Timoty Eddings scored at the 4:11 mark.

Late in the period, Sargent passed the ball to Alex Walsh (Kingston, RI) behind the net, who slammed it home to cut Salem State's lead to one at the 32 seconds. Salem State headed into the second period with a one-goal advantage, leading 3-2.

The Vikings didn't waste any time in the second period, with Tammaro assisting Smith for the fourth goal just a minute in. Both teams continued to play competitively, with Vittands nearly giving Salem State a three-point lead at the 10:05 mark, but the ball missed the left side of the post.

Late in the period, the Vikings scored twice in just under two minutes. Vittands was on the right side near the net when he shot the ball. The ball bounced and went in, extending Salem State's lead to 5-2. The Vikings didn't waste any time, and Collins tallied another one on the score board.

Salem State headed into the break with a four-goal cushion as they led 6-2. Vittands and Smith scored two goals each for the Vikings, with Seward-Dailey leading the team with three caused turnovers and Eddings registering three groundballs. Boynton and Walsh scored a goal each for the Eagles, while Montana had two caused turnovers. Burk, the Eagles goalie, saved 13 of 19 shots, while his counterpart, Cohen, saved 13 of 15 shots. The Eagles were perfect in converting all six of their clears, while the Vikings succeeded in seven of their nine.

The second half of the game saw the Eagles come out strong, with Sargent scoring just 50 seconds into the period, assisted by Matt Boynton (Gardiner, ME). Husson attacked the Vikings' zone, and it paid off when they scored two quick goals in a span of 16 seconds to reduce Salem State's lead to just one. Nathan Vibber (Plaistow, NH) scored the first of these two goals, with Cohen Trnka (Spring Lake, MI)  scoring the second of those goals, assisted by Boynton.

However, Collins extended the Vikings' lead to 7-5 with his own goal. Husson then had a man up opportunity and took advantage of it, as Trnka scored a goal, again assisted by Boynton, to bring the score to 7-6. Eddings then scored another goal for Salem State at the 6:45 mark, shooting from about 15 feet from the net. Vittands then scored his third goal of the game at the 4:57 mark, further extending the Vikings' lead to 8-6. Vibber scored again for the Eagles at the 3:41 mark, bringing the score to 9-7 in favor of Salem State, who held on to their lead as the game headed into the final period.

In the early stages of the final 15 minutes of the game, the Vikings scored their 10th goal of the game, but it was waived off, keeping the score at 9-7. However, at the 9:18 mark, Collins scored a goal to extend the Vikings' lead to 10-7. The Eagles then wasted no time scoring twice in a span of just one minute and eight seconds, with Salem State holding on to a narrow one-point lead, 10-9 at the 7:21 mark.

Salem State then scored three goals in one minute and 12 seconds to close out the game with a 13-9 victory over the Eagles.

Salem State will look to continue their winning ways as they travel to Maine on Wednesday, March 20, to face Thomas (ME) at 4:00 pm.