Men’s Soccer Nipped by Salem State

SALEM, Mass.—The Trailblazers fell victim to two goals from the MASCAC's leading scorer on the road at Salem State.

THE BASICS:

• Date: Saturday, October 14, 2023
• Score: MCLA 0, Salem State 2
• Records: MCLA Trailblazers 4-6-1 (MASCAC 1-3-1) | Salem State Vikings 9-3-2 (MASCAC 4-1-0)

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Salem State scored the game's first goal in the 33^rd minute. Brendan Walsh fed a streaking Vanilton Xavier, who just barely stayed onside to accept the feed at the right-hand corner of the goalie box and got off a shot into the lower left corner of the goal. Walsh's assist moved him into first place in the MASCAC in assists, one helper ahead of MCLA's Jacob Malburg and Bridgewater State's Nicholas Ribeiro, tied with four.
• Xavier doubled the Vikings' advantage to two goals in the 88^th minute. At midfield, Xavier boxed out a pair of Trailblazer defenders to come down with the ball. He then quickly dribbled into the penalty area and chipped the ball over MCLA keeper Oliver Le Lacheur, who was sliding forward in hopes of knocking the ball off of Xavier's foot. The goal was Xavier's MASCAC-leading seventh of the year.
• Le Lacheur made 13 saves on 15 shots, but his record dropped to 1-1-0.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• With 13 saves, Le Lacheur has recorded double-digit saves in both of his starts this season, following up on his 11-save performance in a 1-0 shutout at Worcester State last Saturday.

UP NEXT:

On Tuesday, MCLA will be back in action when they play host to Keene State for a non-conference matchup with the Owls at Shewcraft Field. The teams will take the pitch for a 6 p.m. kickoff.