Vikings’ Late Score Stuns Corsairs

Jose Rodriguez '24, Staff Writer | Media & Communications

Salem, Mass- Salem State defeated UMass Dartmouth 2-1 on Saturday afternoon at Alumni Field. The winning goal was scored by Vanilton Xavier (Brockton, Mass.) late in the second half as the Vikings and Corsairs appeared headed for a tie. The victory takes Salem State's season record to 3-1, while the Corsairs remain winless at 0-4. 

Before the game, coach Correia talked about the Corsairs recent inability to score, having been shutout 11-0 in their previous three games. "We just have to make sure that we play our game. Obviously they are struggling. This means they are a desperate team that is going to do everything they can to score goals. So, we going to be ready to match that and hopefully, the trend continues."  

The match between the Vikings and Corsairs was an intense and competitive battle, with both teams relentlessly attacking each other's zones. Just 11 minutes into the game, Brendan Davis (Dracut, Mass.) broke away and sprinted with the ball towards the Corsairs' zone. He passed it to Aaron O'Toole (Quincy, Mass), who then passed it back to Davis, but their attempt was denied by the Corsairs goaltender, Jack Waterhouse (Lowell, Mass.). The game was very aggressive, with five fouls being committed in the first 15 minutes of action alone. 

Davis almost managed to score a goal that would have given the Vikings a 1-0 lead, but unfortunately, it missed by inches only 21 minutes into the game. Brendan Walsh (Westford, Mass.) also came close to scoring a goal 25 minutes into the game, but his kick hit the crossbar. 

However, the Vikings finally managed to strike first, thanks to Walaeddine Hounnane's (Salem, N.H.) goal on an assist by Dylan Senra (Dartmouth, Mass.). The Vikings had several opportunities to increase their lead throughout the half, but unfortunately, they weren't able to capitalize on them. 

This is what coach Correia had to say after the game about his team missing opportunities in the first 45 minutes of the game. "You have to take advantage of those opportunities or else you let team back in it, and that's exactly what we did."  

At halftime, Salem State was leading UMass Dartmouth 1-0 with six shots on goal compared to the Corsairs' four. 

In the second half, the Vikings made a goalie change, replacing Jonathan Chasse (Haverhill, Mass.) with Matt Hauntsman (Milford, N.H.), who only played for 12 minutes and 33 seconds after allowing a goal on three shots.

 Landon Picillo (Warwick, R.I.), took a shot in the second half, but Waterhouse made a great save to prevent the Vikings from increasing their lead. 

The Corsairs tied the game when Braeden LeClair's (Cumberland, R.I.) scored the first goal of the year for UMass Dartmouth. Coach Correia mentioned that the momentum shifted towards their opponents once the game was tied, requiring them to step up their effort to win. "It gave them a lot of life and they started playing to our level and we had to step up to another level in order to win the game."   

Despite the game being tied at 1-1, Salem State's Chasse entered the game again at the 58-minute mark, and the Vikings were in the Corsairs' zone most of the time, looking to take the lead.

With only eight minutes left in the game, the Vikings had a corner kick, and Davis almost headed a shot into the net, but UMass Dartmouth's goaltender denied it. With only four minutes left in regulation, the Vikings were inches away from taking the lead, but Waterhouse made at two good saves to prevent Salem State from scoring. 

Xavier scored the game-winning goal in the final minutes of the game. This is what Xavier had to say about his goal "First thing, I want to give a shoutout to Walae(ddine) Hounane for making a great play on the goal he scored. He is a great teammate. On my goal I just had to be strong out there and I saw the goalie move a  little bit and I just buried it into the top right corner."    

 The Vikings will now play at Endicott College on Wednesday afternoon. Game time is at 4 p.m.