SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (Oct. 13) – Junior forward John Parsons and senior forward Ryan Praleikas each scored a goal as the Western New England men's soccer team defeat Nichols College, 2-0, in a The Commonwealth Coast Conference match-up on Wednesday at Suprenant Field.

It was the first time the two teams faced each other since last year's conference championship where WNEC won, 3-1, at home.

Western New England College improves its overall record to 9-4-2 overall and 6-2-1 in the conference good for second place behind Roger Williams, while Nichols dips below the .500 mark in TCCC play at 4-5 and is 8-6 overall.

It was a scoreless game until the 74:02 mark in the second half as senior midfielder Jason Sabia set up Parsons on the left side.

The Golden Bears grabbed an insurance goal with 7:36 left in the contest as junior midfielder Justin Martins and Sabia fed Praleikas's first goal of the season.

Aggressive play flourished in the second half as the teams combined for 25 fouls while four yellow cards and a red card were issued to the Bison.

Golden Bears' senior goalie Kyle Bak finished with two saves for his eighth shutout of the season. Sophomore goalkeeper Brendan Hamilton (North Attleboro, Mass.) compiled a season-high 12 for the visitors.

Nichols is back in action at New England College on Saturday in a 2:30 p.m. TCCC game.

Story courtesy Western New England College Sports Information

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