Eastern Connecticut Defeats Vikings

SALEM, Mass. – Jason Ioli (Trumbull, Conn.) scored five goals and Brycen Kennedy (Southington, Conn.) and Quinn O'Connor (Glastonbury, Conn.) added three apiece as Eastern Connecticut ran past Salem State 27-8 on Saturday afternoon at Alumni Field in the Little East opener for both squads. The Warriors raise their record to 3-4, 1-0 while the Vikings slip to 4-3, 0-1.

O'Connor had a game-high five assists in the victory. Zacharie Appolon (Stamford, Conn.), Tim Lichack (Clinton, Conn.), Mitchell Bagcal (South Windsor, Conn.), Shane Haggerty (Stamford, Conn.), Cedrick Rene (Norwalk, Conn.) and Nathan Houggy (Waterford, Conn.) all had multiple goals for Eastern Connecticut. Sean Ventresca (Montville, Conn.), Ethan May (Trumbull, Conn.), Andrew Pendagast (Southbury, Conn.), Rick O'Neal (East Hartford, Conn.) and Jonathon Bernier (Somers, Conn.) all found the back of the net for once for the Warriors.

Sam Cioffi (Marblehead, Mass.) led Salem State with three goals and a pair of assists. Drew Worthley (Saugus, Mass.) added two goals and Christian Burke (Danvers, Mass.), Patrick Guinee (Gloucester, Mass.) and Kevin Albert (Canton, Mass.) added a goal apiece in the Vikings' attack.

Eastern Connecticut dominated from the opening possession,  scoring six straight goals, including two by Kennedy to open a 6-0 first quarter lead. The margin grew to 16-0 in the second after Kennedy notched his third goal of the game at the 1:11 mark. Albert put the Vikings on the scoreboard, with a goal just before halftime, making the deficit 16-1 at the break. The Warriors held a 29-13 shots advantage over the first two periods.

Back-to-back goals by Burke and Worthley stemmed the momentum, but Eastern Connecticut quickly regained control with three straight scores. The two teams exchanged goals before Bagcal's second of the quarter gave the Warriors a 21-5 advantage at the end of three periods.

Eastern Connecticut outscored Salem State 6-3 in the final period, with Houggy and Salem state's Cioffi finding the back of the net more than once.

Nick Collazo (Park Ridge, N.J.) picked up the win making 14 saves. Zach Royal (Abington, Mass.) stopped 12 shots in the loss.