Golden Goal Lifts Vikings Over Bears

SALEM, MASS. – This morning, Salem State field hockey hosted conference opponent, Bridgewater State, for their annual 'Think Pink' game. The teams closed out regulation in a 1-1 stalemate to force overtime where, four minutes in,  Melanie Mason scored the golden goal to capture the 2-1 victory for the Vikings.

The Vikings were spearheaded on offense by the Mason sisters with Melanie Mason (Beverly, Mass.) accounting for both goals and Mikayla Mason (Beverly, Mass.) notching an assist.

On the other side, Lexi James (Ipswich, Mass.) scored the lone goal for the Bears.

Three minutes into the game Bridgewater State found themselves in scoring position when they forced a penalty corner, but the Vikings' defense remained solid and denied their attempt. Less than a minute later, the Vikings would have their penalty corner attempt met by the same fate. This would be the tale of the opening period as the teams remained in a 0-0 stalemate to end the stanza.  

After exchanging penalty corners to start the second, the Vikings were finally able to convert off help from the Mason sisters when Mikayla Mason found her sister, Melanie Mason, at the top of the box who fired a slapshot into the back of the net to give the Vikings the 1-0 tilt. The Bears used the closing two minutes of the half to even the score when James lofted a back hand shot over the right shoulder of Kaia Hollingsworth (Methuen, Mass.) to bring the game to 1-1 going into halftime.

The Bears came out firing to start the second half but back-to-back saves by Hollingsworth deterred their momentum. On the other side, Mackenzie Schmink (Danvers, Mass.) showed life for the Vikings firing off two promising shots, but Madelyne Guidaboni (Hanson, Mass.) turned them away to assure the 1-1 tie going into the final 15 minutes of play.

Salem State dodged a bullet to start the fourth period when the officials overturned a Bridgewater shot that found its way past Vikings' defenders and Hollingsworth to keep the game at one apiece which would end up solidifying ten extra minutes of overtime. The Vikings would need just four minutes to secure the 2-1 victory when Melanie Mason scored the golden goal to lift her team over the Bears.

Hollingsworth made five saves in the win while her counterpart, Guidaboni, made six in the loss.