BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – Junior forward Brendan Davis (Dracut, Mass.) scored the game's only goal in the second half to lift the visiting Salem State University men's soccer team to a 1-0 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) victory over Bridgewater State University on Saturday at Swenson Field. The game marked the MASCAC opener for both teams.
The Vikings improve to 3-2-1 (1-0 MASCAC) on the season, while the Bears fall to 1-3-1 (0-1 MASCAC) . Salem holds a 33-13-6 advantage in the all-time series.
The game was scoreless at the break with Salem holding an 11-5 shot advantage over first 45 minutes.
Viking junior forward Aaron O'Toole (Quincy, Mass.) had the first quality scoring opportunity of the contest in the 26th minute. O'Toole's close-range shot from the right side of the six went wide of the near post.
Junior midfielder Will Halben (Attleboro, Mass.) nearly gave the Bears the lead in the 28th minute as his shot from 15 yards out labeled for inside the left post was turned away by a diving stop by Salem senior netminder Matt Hauntsman (Milford, N.H.).
BSU senior goalkeeper William Russell (Sandwich, Mass.) made a pair of solid saves off corner kicks around the 31-minute mark. Both saves came during a stretch when Salem was awarded four corner kicks in a 90-second span.
In the second half, Bridgewater junior forward David Nelson's (East Bridgewater, Mass.) close-range shot in the 54th minute was blocked and the subsequent header attempt off his own rebound was turned aside by Hauntsman.
The Vikings finally broke the scoreless tie in the 62nd minute. A pass by junior midfielder Brendan Walsh (Westford, Mass.) got through the BSU defense and into the 18. Davis outran a defender to the ball and beat the goalie one-on-one with a shot inside the right post for his first goal of the season. Senior defender Patrick Filetti (Newburyport, Mass.) also assisted on the marker.
SSU junior forward Walaeddine Hounane (Salem, N.H.) flicked a shot just over the crossbar in the 72nd minute as he nearly gave the visitors a two-goal lead.
The Salem defense limited the Bears to four shots with just two on frame over the final 28 minutes as the Vikings held on for the 1-0 win.
Salem finished with a 22-16 shot advantage for the game while corner kicks were even at six apiece.
Hauntsman turned aside eight shots to record his third win and second shutout of the season. Russell made eight saves in the setback for the Bears.
The Bears entertain the Beacons of UMass Boston on Monday night at seven. The Vikings travel to Tufts University on Wednesday night for a seven o'clock game with the Jumbos.