Endicott Bounced in CCC Semifinals by Nichols with Overtime Goal

DUDLEY, Mass. – Playing in their first CCC Semifinal match in nine seasons, the #4 seeded Endicott men's soccer team took the top seed Nichols into overtime but were ousted from the CCC Tournament as the Bison scored 1:52 into the extra period to advance into the championship match. Endicott ends their CCC playoff run with a 9-7-4 record and will look ahead to a possible ECAC New England Tournament berth next week.

Issued a red card with 1:05 remaining in regulation and forced to play man-down for the duration of the match, Endicott managed to get into overtime with Nichols. The Bison (13-2-4), however, took less than two minutes with their man-advantage to score game-winning goal as junior midfielder Isaac Alvarenga (Marlborough, Mass.) fired a close-range shot low from the right side of the goalie box past Endicott keeper Alex Jorge (Billerica, Mass.). Nichols freshman Rielee Mohsin (Stuart, Fla.) earned the assist, tipping a header back to Alvarenga.

Nichols will meet the winner of #2 Gordon versus #3 Roger Williams in Saturday's CCC Championship. The Scots and Hawks face off tonight at 7:00 pm in their conference semifinal match.

Nichols opened up the scoring in the first half just 7:57 into the match as Mohsin netted his eighth of the season off a corner kick from junior midfielder Tiago Prazeres (West Hartford, Conn.). The Bison had controlled the offensive flow of the match early in the opening half, but following the goal Endicott turned the tides to set up their game-tying strike.

Nearly seven and a half minutes after Nichols took the lead, the Blue and Green would knot the score at 1-1 as sophomore back Ryan Cohane (Easton, Conn.) scored his first goal of the season. Off a corner kick by Endicott, Cohane collected a loose ball that was headed around and finished his shot to the top right corner.  

For the rest of the first half and the entirety of the second half, Endicott relied on their goalkeeper Jorge to keep the Bison out of the net. Jorge had nine saves in Wednesday's CCC Semifinal including five in the second half as Nichols outshot Endicott 10-6 in the period.

With only 65 seconds left in regulation and Nichols preparing for a throw-in deep in Endicott territory, the game came to a halt as the referees responded to a skirmish in front of Jorge and the Gulls net. As the dust settled, a red card was issued to Endicott which forced the Gulls to play with 10 men while Nichols got a yellow card. Endicott made it into overtime and saw Jorge record a save on a shot by Mohsin 31 seconds into extra period but the Bison delivered the game-winner at 91:52 to earn a spot in the CCC Championship.

Endicott's backline of Jonathan DeJesus (Bridgeport, Conn.), Kyle Bisceglia (New Boston, N.H.), Cohane, and captain Jed Magnusson (Kingston, N.H.) were integral in keeping Nichols off the board for the majority of the game. Midfielders Brian Blanchard (Hingham, Mass.), Shintaroh Itoh (Nerima, Tokyo), Brio Likaj (Salem, Mass.), Connor Gibbs (Westborough, Mass.), Brendan McLaughlin (Colchester, Conn.), Conner Couchot (Mason, Ohio), Stephen Joyce (Rome, N.Y.), and Brayden Nielsen (Essex Junction, Vt.) were integral pieces in controlling possession. Forwards Zach Rizzo (Redding, Conn.), Diego Slobotzky (Mexico City, Mexico), and Abdulla Al Khalifa (Riffa, Bahrain) did their part in producing offensive opportunities.

Nichols goalie Jeremy Nash (West Springfield, Mass.) earned the win between the posts by making two saves in the match.