ATHENS, W.Va. — The Salem men's soccer team (4-9-2, 2-8-1) put up a gritty defensive performance on the road Sunday afternoon at Callaghan Stadium, but ultimately fell 1-0 to Concord (10-1-2, 9-1-0).
After a tightly contested opening half hour, the Mountain Lions broke through in the 31st minute when Dominique Malhomme netted his fourth goal of the season, assisted by Adam Leibowitz and Josiah Ochoa.
Despite trailing at the break, the Tigers shifted the momentum in the second half. Salem heavily outshot Concord 9-5 in the final 45 minutes to finish with 10 total shots on the match. The Tigers applied heavy pressure down the stretch, getting a flurry of looks from Carlos Gonzalez, Xavier Villa, Anthony Blankenship, and Copper West. Salem forced Concord goalkeeper Iori Tanaka into two key second-half saves—including stops on attempts by Noah Kostanian Urvik and Nicolas Del Gaudio—but were unable to find the equalizer.
Salem goalkeeper Jason Barrientos anchored the defense with four saves across a full 90 minutes between the posts.
The Tigers return to action looking to bounce back as they navigate the remainder of their fall schedule.
