Salem State 1 No. 24 Gordon 0
Salem, Mass. – Kelly Birchmore (Swampscott, MA) scored in the 62nd minute, and Salem State's defense did the rest, as the Vikings scored a 1-0 victory over No. 24 Gordon College on Thursday night at Alumni Field. The Fighting Scots, who are ranked in the D3Soccer.com Women's Top 25, had their nine-game winning streak snapped, and are now 11-2 on the year. The Vikings improved to 5-4-1 on the season.
The first half was a defensive struggle as both teams combined for just three shots on goal. However, Kendra Woudenberg (Whitinsville, MA) of Gordon nearly put the Fighting Scots on the board, but her shot from twenty yards out hit high off the right corner post. Birchmore later found herself alone in front of the Gordon net, but McKenzie Dion (North Grafton, MA) made a nice save to keep the game scoreless.
The second half continued to be a defensive stalemate as neither team was able to set up their playmakers on offense. At the 62:55 mark, the Vikings finally broke through, when Birchmore lofted a pass from Sara Previte (Beverly, MA) into the far corner of the net to give Salem State a 1-0 lead. The Vikings defense clamped down the rest of the half, negating any advance by Gordon, which managed one shot on goal in the period, off a free kick.
Salem State goaltender Rachel Ledbetter (Dracut, MA) had one save in goal while Gordon's Dion made five stops.
This was the fourth straight match to finish 1-0 between the rivals, with each team taking two wins apiece.
The Vikings' next match is home against conference rival Westfield State on Saturday at 1:00 PM. Gordon College has a home match at 12:00 PM on Saturday against Curry College.
