Men’s Soccer Prevails Over MASCAC Foe Salem State, 4-2

NORTH ADAMS, Mass.—The MCLA Men's Soccer team welcomed the Salem State Vikings to Shewcraft Field this evening for a conference matchup. Connor Green scored his first-career goal to open the scoring, and Traizen Griffith scored his conference-leading seventh to put the game away in MASCAC action.  

THE BASICS:

• Date: Friday, October 18, 2024
• Score: Salem 2, MCLA 4
• Records: Salem State Vikings 5-6-4 (MASCAC 2-2-1) | MCLA Trailblazers 6-6-2 (MASCAC 2-2-1)
• Series History: Salem State leads the all-time series 32-14-2, including a 2-0 win last season in Salem on October 14^th. MCLA won the first-ever meeting between the teams during the 1972 season.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Senior defender Conor Green (Bolton, MA) opened the scoring in the 40^th minute. A Viking defender attempted to clear the ball from their defensive end but instead headed it directly to Green about 30 yards out from the net with space to spare, and Green made them pay the price, burying a laser of left-footed shot into the back of the net. The Trailblazers took that 1-0 lead into the halftime break.
• Salem State picked up an equalizer on an own goal in the 54^th minute before taking the lead in the 57th minute on Alex Ixlaj-Tello's second goal of the season.
• The Viking lead was short-lived, ending when MCLA senior midfielder  Marcos Lopez (Albany, NY) was taken down from behind inside the 18-yard box and then converted on the penalty kick opportunity in the 58^th minute.
• In the 66^th minute, the Trailblazers went back in front when freshman midfielder Kyle Almeida (Averill Park, NY) found a wide-open senior midfielder, Liam Gibney (Rensselaer, NY), standing near the far post for an easy tap into the open net. The goal was Gibney's second of the season, and the assist was Almeida's fourth.
• In the closing seconds of the game, MCLA's sophomore midfielder Traizen Griffith (Enfield, CT) scored his MASCAC-leading seventh goal of the season when senior midfielder Jacob Richardson (Adams, MA) settled a short punt from the Salem goalkeeper and fed a streaking Griffith, in stride, for a goal in the lower left corner of the goal. The goal came with just over six seconds left on the clock.
• Senior goalkeeper Ryan Taylor (Plattsburgh, NY) improved his record to 6-4-1, picking up six saves on eight shots, including a diving stop of a penalty kick opportunity for the Vikings in the 10^th minute to keep the game scoreless. Salem's Erik Berg made five saves but still fell to 2-4-0 on the year.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Ryan Taylor added to his MASCAC leading save total, extending his lead over Mass. Maritime's Preston Joia to nine saves, 63 to 54. Taylor is also fourth in save percentage (.778).
• Salem State had a 16-3 advantage in corner kicks and a 23-14 edge in shots.

UP NEXT:

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

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