BRIDGEPORT, West Virginia - On an unseasonably warm Sunday afternoon in Bridgeport, the Salem Tigers men's soccer team was primed and ready for a strong showing on their final home contest of the 2024 season. Additionally, the Tigers honored their graduating senior, Isaac Luquin and graduate assistant Ionut Rares Gaspar after the contest, so there was some extra excitement in the air at The Bridge Sports Complex. The Tigers hung tough with Concord the whole way, but they ultimately fell to the Mountain Lions 4-1.

In the first half, Concord jumped out of an early lead with a goal in the opening moments of the game. The Tigers kept the pressure on, and found their own scoring punch when Giancarlo Pardo played a pass into Josue Villegas who then got it into Aldair Cardenas who slipped it past the Mountain Lion goalkeeper to draw the match level at 1-1. That scoreline held for the rest of the half. 

For the second half, unfortunately it was the Mountain Lions who made the major strides offensively. They broke the deadlock 10 minutes into the half, and eventually expanded that lead to 4-1 late in the period. Salem's comeback bid was valiant, but it would not quite be enough to overcome the big Mountain Lion advantage.

Statistically, Salem was led offensively by the lone goal of the contest by Aldair Cardenas. Both Giancarlo Pardo and Josue Villegas assisted on the play. Defensively, Jason Barrientos tallied up 7 saves in the loss. 

With the home finale in the books, the Tigers have just one more stop on their 2024 campaign trail. They head up to the Steel City for a rematch with the Point Park Pioneers on November 6th at 7:30 PM for that final match of the season.