Vikings Upend Warriors 3-1
Salem, MA—The Vikings of Salem State University scored a 3-1 victory over the Eastern Connecticut State Warriors on Wednesday night at Alumni Field. The Vikings used a stifling defense and timely scoring to win their third game in a row. Salem State improves to 3-2-1 on the year while the Warriors drop to 4-3.
Eastern Connecticut struck first when Tamar Merheb (Bethel, CT) fought to corral a corner kick by Maggie Sayers (Windsor Locks, CT), and put it in the back of the net for an early 1-0 lead. The Vikings tied the score at the 10:31 mark when Kelly Birchmore (Swampscott, MA) chased down a ball from Amy Griffith (Middleton, MA) and rocketed a shot past goalie Rachel Skelton (East Lyme, CT) to make it 1-1 at the half.
The Vikings defense dominated play in the second half, limiting the Warriors to just one shot on net, while controlling play in their zone for most of the period. Birchmore almost set up another Salem State goal early in the second, on a corner, but Casey Connolly's (Nahant, MA) header was disallowed due to a foul. However, the captain made amends in the 56th minute when her first goal of the year gave the Vikings a 2-1 lead. Later, Salem State's Victoria Clancy (Dorchester, MA) iced the game when she laced in a shot from twenty yards out in the 78th minute.
Rachel Ledbetter (Dracut, MA) made one save for the Vikings in the win. Skelton was credited with two stopped shots for her squad.
Salem State outshot Eastern Connecticut 13-3, including 7-1 in the second half.
The Vikings will play again Saturday at home against the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts at 2:30. Eastern Connecticut will travel to Keene State on Saturday for a game at 1:00.
