FALCONS SCORE TWICE IN SECOND HALF TO BEST PRIDE

WESTON, Mass. – Fitchburg State University's Simon Vikoler (Chiusa, Italy) scored a pair of goals in the second half to lead Fitchburg State to a 2-0 victory over host Regis College on Wednesday night in non-conference men's soccer action in Weston, Mass. The Falcons improve to 4-3 with the win, while the Pride fall to 2-6.

Aidan Hanratty (East Bridgewater, Mass.) made six saves to earn the shutout win, his fourth of the season, while Regis' Manny Calderon (Bristol, Conn.) registered five saves of his own in the setback.

The first half started out with not much offense as both teams felt each other out through the first 30 minutes of play. In the 33rd minute, Fitchburg State put together their first scoring chance as Gabriel Moya (Everett, Mass.) played a through ball to Josh Hofer (Manchester, N.H.) that left Hofer one-on-one with Calderon. Hofer tried to sneak one past Calderon on the left side, but the sophomore keeper was there for the stop to maintain the 0-0 score.

Regis' first chance of the day came on the ensuing Pride possession as Regis was awarded a free kick following a Falcons foul. Fernando Tomé (Tegucigalpa, Honduras) played the free kick into the box where it found the feet of Dillon Lanctot (Somersworth, N.H.). Lanctot turned to his left and fired a shot on net that glanced off an FSU defender, but Hanratty was there for the diving save before it crossed the goal line.

The game entered the half a 0-0 draw, but the Falcons wasted no time grabbing the first goal of the game. Off a throw, Vikoler got loose in the box and fired a shot on net that was saved by Calderon. The ball ended up at the top of the box where Brett Smith (North Andover, Mass.) slipped a perfectly placed pass back to Vikoler, who did not miss this time, blasting the ball opposite post to give the Falcons a 1-0 lead. Vikoler nearly scored seven minutes later when he took another good pass from Smith for a one-on-one chance, but Calderon was there for the stop.

Vikoler gave the Falcons a bit of breathing room with his second tally of the day on a miscue by the Pride in the 65th minute. Fitchburg worked the ball into the box, but lost possession after a pass missed its mark. When the Regis defense went to clear the ball out of the box, Vikoler jumped in front, taking the ball off the chest and sending it into the back of the net for the 2-0 advantage.

Regis had a couple of chances to cut the lead in half, but Hanratty was up to the challenge. John Flowers (Torrington, Conn.) and Tomé each tried to go over the top of Hanratty, but both times he was there for the jumping save. Fitchburg State was able to maintain possession over the final 11-plus minutes of action to hang on for the 2-0 win.

Both teams attempted 15 shots in the game, and both had four corner kick tries.

The Crimson and Gold open New England Collegiate Conference play on Saturday afternoon when they host Elms College at 3:30 p.m. as a part of Pride Fest. Fitchburg State is in MASCAC action on Friday night when they travel to the Massachusetts Maritime Academy for a 7:00 p.m. matchup.