Site: Staunton, Va.
Score: Salem 1, Mary Baldwin 0
Records: Salem (5-5-0, 1-1-0 USA South) / Mary Baldwin (7-4-1, 1-2-0 USA South)
Up Next: Salem vs. Meredith (October 8, 2 p.m.)
STAUNTON, Va.— Salem's Darilyn Nieto netted her 11th goal of the season and third game-winning strike in the 87th-minute, following a pass from Alyson Gammons, to even the team's record at 1-1 in the USA South Conference with a 1-0 victory at Mary Baldwin on Wednesday afternoon in Staunton, Va.
Nieto broke the scoreless tie when she drove home a shot from the 18-yard box, following the Gammons pass. The win halted a two-match losing skid for the Spirits and marked the fourth shutout victory in 2022. Nieto, a first-year standout for Salem, is now tied alongside Brooke Bukas for fourth-most goals by a player in their rookie season. Bukas scored 11 during the course of the 2014 season.
Salem finished the match with 11 shots, attempting six shots on goal along the way. Nieto attempted six shots (four SOG), with Olivia Nivens (three) and Ashley Linden (two) attempting two shots each. Two of Nivens' attempts were in the direction of the goal.
While Nieto sparked the offense, Jordan Tomberlin held the Fighting Squirrels scoreless in net, making five saves on the afternoon. Mary Baldwin, which suffered its second shutout of the season, attempted 21 shots over the course of the match, including five from Shea Rider.
It marks Tomberlin's first solo shutout of the season after combining for three alongside Alexcina Wartski and Mireya Sanchez this season. The Merritt Island, Fla., native has five matches with at least five saves for Salem.
SALEM NOTES
-Three of the four shutouts by the Spirits this season have come against Virginia-based institutions (Regent, Sweet Briar, Mary Baldwin).
-Nieto, a first-year standout for Salem, is now tied alongside Brooke Bukas for fourth-most goals by a player in their rookie season. Bukas scored 11 during the course of the 2014 season.
-All four wins in net for Jordan Tomberlin this season have come by virtue of a shutout. Tomberlin's shutout performances came against Regent, Sweet Briar, Johnson & Wales and Mary Baldwin.
-Salem is 2-1-0 in the all-time series with Mary Baldwin.
-Spirits are 3-2 on the road in 2022, improving to 4-2 all-time in its first road match in USA South Conference action since joining the league in 2016.