Salem State 2 Bridgewater State 1
SALEM – Nahuel Aligbay (Leominster, Mass.) found a streaking Grace Dos Santos (Brockton, Mass.) for the game-winner just ten seconds into overtime as Salem State defeated Bridgewater State 2-1 in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) opener for both schools. The Vikings improve to 3-2 and 1-0 on the year while the Bears slip to 1-4 and 0-1 in conference.
Dos Santos broke free along the left sideline and easily beat Bridgewater State keeper Nate Morgado (Dartmouth, Mass.) for his second goal of the season.
Mayele Malango (Lowell, Mass.) netted his sixth goal of the season for the only score of the first half from just inside the box in the 22nd minute for a 1-0 Vikings’ lead. Salem State forced the action in the first half, outshooting Bridgewater State 5-1 despite the Bears holding a 3-1 advantage in corner kicks.
Francisco Silveira (Fogo, Cape Verde) set up the equalizer for Bridgewater State in the 65th minute as his pass allowed Joseph Cruise (Brockton, Mass.) to beat a diving Chris Jimenez (Nashua, N.H.) with Bridgewater State’s first goal.
Both keepers made key saves in the closing minutes with Jimenez denying Bears forward Ronaldo Powell (Nantucket, Mass.) with less than four minutes to go.
Jimenez made seven saves in the win while Morgado stopped six shots for Bridgewater State. Both teams finished with eight shots on net with Bridgewater State held a slight 5-4 advantage in corners.
Endicott 4 Eastern Nazarene 0
BEVERLY – The Endicott men’s soccer team opened Commonwealth Coast Conference play with a 4-0 win over Eastern Nazarene this afternoon in Hempstead Stadium. The Gulls were led by a hat-trick performance from sophomore Evan Couchot (Mason, Ohio).
E. Couchot got the scoring started at the 20:40 mark with an assist from Robert Hartan (Hebron, Conn.). Less than nine minutes later, Jesse Martinez (Walpole, Mass.) buried his third goal of the season to give the Gulls a 2-0 lead.
R. Hartan also delivered the pass to E. Couchot at 54:50 which resulted in Endicott’s third goal of the game.
Just under three minutes later, E. Couchot completed the hat-trick with a little help from Rieley Hoffman (Watertown, N.Y.).
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
Endicott junior goaltender Brandon Rosenbaum (Locust Valley, N.Y.) made his first start of the year in net. He recorded two saves and tallied his first career shutout.
The Gulls outshot the Lions 33-4.
E. Couchot paced the offense with 10 shots.
Thomas Martin (Derry, N.H.) earned the assist on Martinez’s tally.
For the first time in Endicott program history, both the men’s and women’s soccer teams saw a student-athlete record a hat-trick on the same day. Earlier in the afternoon, Rachel Hanna (Chelmsford, Mass.) netted a hat-trick of her own against Eastern Nazarene.
FOR THE FOES
Eastern Nazarene goalies, Tim Eddings (Endicott, N.Y.) and Victor Mendoza (Cathedral, Calif.) split time in net for the Lions.
The Lions were led offensively by Joao Costa (Framingham, Mass.) who registered two shots.
WHAT’S NEXT
Endicott (3-1-1; 1-0-0) travels to Trinity (Conn.) for a 7 p.m. nonconference matchup on Wednesday, September 20. Eastern Nazarene (0-5-0; 0-1-0) is on the road at Springfield on Monday, September 18 at 4 p.m.
