SALEM, Mass. – The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth men's soccer team fell on the road at Salem State University, 1-0, on Wednesday night during a non-conference tilt from Alumni Field. The Corsairs dropped to a 5-4-1 overall record following the narrow loss to the Vikings who improved to a 5-3-2 mark on the season.
Junior goalkeeper
Ethan Donahue made two early saves for the Corsairs in the opening minutes of action. Shortly after, junior
Matt Kobrenski fired the first shot on frame for UMass Dartmouth to force a stop by Vikings goalkeeper Brady Whitmarsh. Approaching the midway point of the half, the Corsairs outshot the Vikings by a 3-1 margin featuring a shot on target by sophomore
Daniel Jordan that Whitmarsh stopped with 20:09 on the clock. Salem State posted seven shots in the remaining 20 minutes of the first half including one save by Donahue to keep the game scoreless at halftime.
UMass Dartmouth started the second strong as first year
Lennon Rodrigues lasered a shot on frame less than a minute into play. Kobrenski and senior
Mario Rodriguez each ripped a shot apiece with Whitmarsh earning another stop for the Vikings. Donahue posted back-to-back saves for the Corsairs for his third stop of the half nearing the 60
th minute of the contest. After Salem State strung five consecutive shots together, the Vikings got on the scoreboard with 67:53 on the clock to take a 1-0 lead.
The Corsairs responded by putting 2-of-5 shots on target featuring one from Rodriguez and another by Jordan. Whitmarsh was able to produce both saves to cement Salem State's win by a final score of 1-0.
The Vikings held a 22-13 shot differential in the game while also holding a 9-7 shots on-goal advantage. Salem State also earned five total corner kicks in the contest compared to UMass Dartmouth with two corners on the night.
Rodriguez led the squad with four shot attempts including two on target while Kobrenski, Rodrigues, and Jordan each registered two shots apiece. Sophomore
Delano Costa and first year
Elijah Beltran each ended the contest with one shot for the Corsairs.
Donahue finished the game with a season-high eight saves and allowed one goal in net for UMass Dartmouth. Whitmarsh produced seven stops in goal to secure the shutout win for Salem State.
The Corsairs return to Little East Conference (LEC) action on Saturday, October 4 hosting the Spartans of VTSU Castleton for an 11:00 a.m. league matchup.
