BRIDGEPORT, West Virginia - After a tough result in their last contest down south, the Salem Tigers men's soccer team was more than eager to return to the comfort of their home field at The Bridge Sports Complex. The downside to that return was the opponent for the evening, that #3 ranked Charleston Golden Eagles. Salem held their own with the regional power for some time, but were ultimately defeated 8-2 in the contest.
In the first half, tragedy struck early on as Charleston came out of the gate with a flurry of shots on goal in the opening minutes that led to a quick 3-0 deficit for the Tigers. However, Head Coach Greg Gilmore was able to settle some nerves and keep the Tigers locked in to claw their way back into the game. They found their first goal shortly thereafter when a Carter Block shot deflected off a Golden Eagle defender and past the goalkeeper to get the Tigers on the board. Max Cavanagh assisted on that play. The rest of the half settled into a defensive gridlock with neither team finding many scoring chances, and Salem went into the break with some work to do in the second half.
Unfortunately for the Tigers, it would be the Golden Eagles who opened up the second half with another goal making it 4-1. The Tigers responded in kind with another goal of their own. Nathan Sealy punched in a shot off of a Max Cavanagh corner kick that brought the Tigers their second goal of the contest. Despite the pair of impressive goals, the Charleston offensive attack proved too hot to handle for Salem, and the contest eventually concluded with a 8-2 scoreline favoring the Golden Eagles.
With the tough loss, Salem still had a strong performance from a few areas. Max Cavanagh assisted on 2 goals to lead the Tigers offensively, and Nathan Sealy and Carter Block both added their first career goals as Tigers. In goal, Josh Hills ended up with an impressive 14 saves on the night.
While the loss still stings for the Tigers, they will need to focus up ahead of their next round of action. Their next contest will be on the road where they will face Davis & Elkins on Saturday, October 12th at 2 PM in Elkins, West Virginia.
