Trailblazer Men fall at home to MASCAC rival Salem State 2-1

North Adams, MA- The MCLA Trailblazers and the Salem State Vikings hooked up in a key early season MASCAC matchup this afternoon at sun drenched Shewcraft field.  The visiting Vikings took a two goal lead in the second half, and then hung on to defeat the Trailblazers 2-1. 

The victory marked the first of the season for the Vikings, who improve to 1-6 overall, but more importantly 1-1 in conference play.  MCLA dropped their fifth straight game (2-5 overall) after starting 2-0, and are now 0-2 in MASCAC play.

Salem jumped ahead early as Eryk Fernandez scored off a rebound just 1:55 into the game for his team leading fifth goal of the season.  Salem would own the opening minutes of the game, but slowly MCLA began to create chances.

Trailblazer freshman Dylan Pereira ripped a shot from point blank range, only to have Viking net minder Nondas Kargakis block it to preserve the lead heading into halftime.  Salem held an 11-6 shot advantage after 45 minutes of play.

The Vikings put some distance in front of the Trailblazers in the 48th minute when Saimir Zepaj converted a Ralph Bertrand cross into the upper right corner for what seemed to a game clinching goal.

Momemtum would shift however, as the hosts began to battle back.  In the 53rd minute, Romeo Gray had a great scoring chance in close, but Kargakis came up big with the stop.  Pereira corralled the rebound and had an open net, but his shot sailed wide.  The constant offensive pressure from MCLA finally paid off when Pereira would connect in the 57th minute.  He took a long pass from Tyler Guzzi and beat Kargakis to make it 2-1.

Both sides would miss quality scoring chances over the final twenty minutes.  Gray was behind the Salem defense and had an open net but sent his shot wide of the mark, while Salem's Zepaj beat MCLA keeper Matt Robinson and had an open net himself, only to miss wide of the mark.

In the end, the Vikings were able to settle down as MCLA wasn't able to generate any quality chances over the final minutes.

Salem would eventually hold a 21-19 shot advantage, while corners were even as each side had seven.

Kargakis stopped 9 shots for the Vikings in earning the victory.  Robinson made five saves for MCLA.