Salem Overpowers Thomas, 24-8

THE BASICS

Salem State, 24 at Thomas College, 8

Records: 

Thomas College Terriers (6-3)

Salem State Vikings (6-3)

Location: Waterville, Maine - Smith Field

Date: Thursday, April 2, 2026

THE LEAD –  The Salem State men's lacrosse team extended its win streak to three after topping Thomas College 24-8 on Thursday afternoon. 

 HOW IT HAPPENED

• Salem's offense started off fast thanks to early goals from Ryan Jones (Saugus, Mass.) and James Tatro (Byfield, Mass.) at 13:32 and 09:12, respectively. Later in the first, Thomas responded with two quick goals of its own and evened the contest at two with 06:06 left in the frame. 
• Despite Thomas's momentum, Salem took advantage of man-up opportunities, scoring goals from Connor Vittands (Gloucester, Mass.) and Joseph Turpin (Groveland, Mass.), and the squad took a 4-2 lead after one.
• The Vikings continued their momentum going into the second when Tatro first found the back of the net at 10:42, and shortly after at 10:06, Jack Michaud (Tyngsborough, Mass.) did the same. However, the Terriers continued to chip away once again when Owen Lyons and Nicholas Pike cut the deficit to two (6-4) with scores at 11:59 and 07:44, respectively. 
• Even with the hosts pulling within two, Salem closed out the second scoring three-straight goals and went into the half up 9-4. Just like the beginning of the other two quarters, the Blue and Orange started off with two quick goals courtesy of Tatro and Michaud. Later in the third, with Salem up seven (12-5), Thomas would not go quietly thanks to scores from Wyatt Lyons and Jack Morril to pull the Terriers within five (12-7) with 04:59 left in the frame.
• However, Tatro scored the last two goals of the third and doubled up Thomas, 14-7, going into the fourth. In the final quarter, it was all Salem as the squad outscored Thomas, 10-1. Tatro, Vittands, and Landon Rice (Sturbridge, Mass.) all highlighted the Vikes' fourth quarter offense with two goals apiece. Thanks to the strong quarter, Salem earned a 24-8 victory.

 INSIDE THE NUMBERS: 

• Three Vikings finished the day with five or more goals, led by Tatro's six, followed by Vittands and Rice with five each. 
• Vittands dished out a team-high four assists on the day.
• Ryan Cohen (Bedford, Mass.) earned the win after stopping 16 shots on Wednesday.
• Mike Picard ended up with the loss for Thomas after stopping just 10 shots.
• Salem has now scored 20-plus goals three times this season. The last time the Vikes scored 20-plus goals more than three times in a season was in 2022, when the squad had four 20-plus goal games. 
• For the second time this season, the Vikings registered a win streak of three or more games. Last time Salem had multiple three-plus game win streaks in a year was in 2009.
• The Vikings' three-game win streak is the longest since last season, when the squad won four in a row.
• Salem and Thomas have now met five times, with Salem leading the overall series, 4-1. Currently, the Vikings have beaten the Terriers in the last three matchups. 

UP NEXT:

Salem returns home for a Little East Conference matchup against Eastern Connecticut State on Saturday, April 4, at noon.