Vikings Shutout Cougars

Jose Rodriguez '24, Staff Writer | Media & Communications 

SALEM, Mass. -- On Wednesday night at Alumni Field, Salem State shutout Clark University 2-0 in a non-conference match. The win helps Salem State improve to 8-3-2 on the season while the Cougars drop to 2-8-3.  

Before the game, coach Correia spoke to his team about bouncing back from their loss on Saturday. "Is important that we bounced back so we prepared as much as we could and we're ready for today."   

Brendan Davis (Dracut, Mass.) had an early opportunity to give the lead to Salem State, but he was denied by Diego Marin's (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico) save. The Vikings were trying to attack the Cougars' zone, but were unable to capitalize. Marc Kim's shot from 40 yards out was caught by Matt Hauntsman (Milford, N.H.), who made a sliding catch.  

Salem State opened the scoring in the 21st minute when Brendan Walsh (Westford, Mass.) scored on the right side to give the Vikings a 1-0 lead. Jair Alvarez (Lynn, Mass.) then had a chance to score, but his shot from 40 yards out missed by inches. The Cougars responded by attacking the Viking zone, but Hauntsman made a great save to keep his team in the game.  

After the game, Walsh talked about his confidence on the field as he played a pivotal role in scoring a goal and adding an assist.  "Just working hard, we had to bounce back as we had a tough loss to Bridgewater, 2-1 and once again the guys came up big…" 

33 minutes into the game, Salem State was awarded a free kick, which Dylan Senra (Dartmouth, Mass.) took from about 40 yards away. Marin made a diving catch on the right side of the net, keeping the score at 1-0 in favor of the Vikings. In the first half, Hauntsman saved all three shots while Marin saved six shots with one goal allowed. Clark University had four fouls in the half compared to Salem State's two. The Vikings had six corner kicks and the Cougars had three. 

In the second half, the Cougars attempted to get back into the game, but Alvarez blocked their chance 53 minutes into the game. Lucas Saia (Pembroke, Mass.) also had a chance, but his shot went just wide in the 64th minute. With 66 minutes left in the game, Davis shot a ball that was deflected by Marin, but the Vikings were unable to capitalize on the rebound. 

Salem State added an insurance goal three minutes later when Walsh hit a corner kick and Walaeddine Hounane (Salem, N.H.)  headed the ball into the net to give the Vikings a 2-0 lead.  

Hounane talked about his goal. "When Walsh had that ball, the whole bench was really excited with a lot of emotion and we should've put a couple more (on the board), but that's how the game goes."  

Both teams continued to attack each other's zones late in the game. Hauntsman saved all seven shots during the game while Marin saved eight of ten shots. Salem State had 13 corner kicks compared to Clark University's five. Both teams had five fouls during the game. 

Coach Correia talked about his team's performance after the game. "They come from a tough conference [NEWMAC] so anytime you get a win from that league is huge."  

Salem State will remain at home as they take on the MCLA Trailblazers for a conference game at Alumni Field. The game is scheduled to start at 1 PM.