#1 Seed Salem State Cruises 5-0 Over # 5 Seed MCLA to Reach MASCAC Championship Game

Salem, Mass. – Lucas Amaral (Peabody, Mass.) netted two goals to lead top seed Salem State to the 2021 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) championship game with a 5-0 victory over fifth seed MCLA on Friday evening at Alumni Field. The Vikings will look for their first post-season championship since 2017, when they face second seed Framingham State on Sunday, November 7 in a rematch of the 2019 MASCAC title game, which the Rams won 1-0.

Salem State (12-6) dominated play over the first forty-five minutes of the game. The Trailblazers (5-11-1) were limited offensively by the relentless defense of the Vikings, led by Patrick Filetti (Newburyport, Mass.). Amaral nearly gave Salem State a 1-0 lead early into the first, but goalie Sam Edge (Williamstown, Mass.) made a diving save to keep the game scoreless. Kendy Prince (Medford, Mass.) broke the stalemate with his league-leading 18^th goal of the year, which was setup by Aaron O'Toole (Quincy, Mass.) in the 17^th minute.

O'Toole extended the lead to 2-0 in the 31^st minute when he headed in a line drive pass from Damon Deocleciano (Lowell, Mass.) from eight yards out.  

Salem State pressured the Trailblazers from the opening whistle, rarely allowing the ball to cross midfield. On MCLA's lone chance of the half, Gabe Dias (Shrewsbury, Mass.) broke free along the left sideline, but his shot sailed high, negating MCLA's only legitimate scoring chance.

Salem State took advantage of a failed clear by MCLA, setting up Amaral for the game's third goal with a shot into the righthand corner of the net in the 43^rd minute.

Salem State held an 11-1 advantage in shots and a 6-0 margin in corners.

Matt Hauntsman (Milford, N.H.), who was rarely tested, twice came out of the box to snuff out any scoring chances by the Trailblazers in the second half.  The Vikings, who racked up 23 shots to just four by MCLA, added two second half goals eight minutes apart to ice the victory.

Amaral connected on a penalty kick in the 78^th minute and Endi Doku (Peabody, Mass.) put home a pass from Fabricio Torres (Lima, Peru) from 10 yards out in the 86^th minute to cap the scoring.

Hauntsman ended with a pair of saves for the Vikings while Edge made 10 saves in goal for the Trailblazers. Salem State now has eight consecutive conference shutouts.