Men’s Soccer Blanked by Salem in MASCAC Semi-Final

Salem, Mass. – Salem State men's soccer scored two second half goals to pull away from No. 4 seeded Framingham State to advance to the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference  (MASCAC) Championship on Sunday. The Vikings defeated the Rams 3-0 in the semifinals and will now seek their first trip to the NCAA Tournament since 2010 when they host No. 6 seeded Westfield State, which upset No. 2 seeded Mass Maritime 3-2 in the other semifinal.

Mayele Malango (Lowell, Mass.) put Salem State (12-5) on the scoreboard early as he went left and hooked a shot from 30 yards out that beat Josh Arno (Natick, Mass.) in the 10th minute. Malango now has 43 points on the season, second most by a freshman in a single season in Salem state history.

Malango's tally was the only score of the first half as the Vikings outshot the Rams 6-2 in the half.

Issac De Souza (Sao Paulo, Brazil) nearly tied the game in the 60th minute as his shot from just inside the box nearly skidded past keeper Chris Jimenez (Nashua, N.H.), but Jimenez recovered to make a diving stop.  The Vikings gained breathing room three minutes later when Arno's attempt to clear went directly to Nahuel Aligbay (Leominster, Mass.), who without any defenders easily beat the goalie giving Salem State a 2-0 advantage.   

In a game that featured eight yellow cards, one red card and 39 combined fouls, the Vikings' defense answered every Framingham State advance, allowing just one shot on goal by the Rams over the final 23 minutes.

Alex Carvajal (Salem, Mass.) iced the game when he knocked in a rebound off a free kick in the 80th minute that put Salem State up 3-0.

Arno, took the loss allowing two goals while making two saves before being replaced by Dennis Slaw (Accra, Ghana), who gave up one score on three shots faced. Jimenez made eight saves in the win. The Rams end their season with a 9-10-1 record.

*Release courtesy of SSU sports information