by Brian Hoffman
The Salem boys jumped to a 3-1 first half lead and held on for a 4-3 soccer win over Christiansburg at Spartan Field Tuesday night.
Salem got two goals from Graham Fischer and one from Matteo Collins to take the lead at intermission. Freshman Logan Lavinder assisted on the first two scores and Brady Sparger had the assist on Fischer’s second goal.
The Demons bounced back to cut the lead to 3-2 in the second half, but with about two minutes to go Lavinder scored off an assist from Evin Lainnez for some insurance. The Spartans cashed it in when the Demons answered but Salem was able to come away with the 4-3 win. Zach Lintner had eight saves in the goal for Salem.
“It got a little chippy, but it was a good win,” said Salem coach David Atkins.
Last Friday at Spartan Field the boys were edged by Patrick Henry, 2-1. Down early 1-0, the Spartans fought back to tie the game on a goal by Nelson Talavera, assisted by Carter Work, with eight minutes left in the half. PH regained the lead with just seconds left in the half and no one scored after halftime as the Patriots got out of town with a River Ridge District win. Max Benne had seven saves for the Spartans.
Salem is now 4-5-1 with a Friday game against Hidden Valley at the Titans’ Bruce Mahan Field.