NEWPORT, R.I. - Salve Regina scored a pair of second half goals as the Seahawks claimed the second seed in the upcoming Commonwealth Coast Conference Men's Soccer Championship with a 2-1 victory over visiting Nichols on Tuesday afternoon at Brother Reynolds Field. With the win, the Seahawks finished the regular season with a 13-5-1 overall record, including a 6-3 mark during conference play while Nichols dips to 11-7-0 on the season and 5-4-0 in the conference.

Nichols currently sits in third place and will host a quarterfinal matchup on Saturday as the Bison can finish no lower than fourth place with one match remaining on the conference slate. The conference will release the official pairings and times tomorrow night.

The Seahawks received goals from senior Jacob Brigandi (Vernon, Conn.) and sophomore Issa Demirgioglu (Smithfield, R.I.) while freshman Jeffrey L'Heureux (Litchfield, N.H.) made three saves to earn the victory in net, improving to 4-1-1 in his rookie campaign.

Freshman Tiago Prazeres (West Hartford, Conn.) scored the lone goal for the Bison, while senior Scott Coderre (Thompson, Conn.) dished-out the game's only assist. Freshman Francesco Chiaravalloti (Torrington, Conn.) made a match-high eight saves while earning the tough loss in net, evening his record to 1-1 on the year.

The Bison opened up the scoring in the 10th minute of play when Coderre set up Prazeres who delivered a perfectly placed shot into top corner to give Nichols the early 1-0 lead. 

Despite the Seahawks outshooting the Bison by a 10-6 margin in the period, Nichols held up its 1-0 advantage heading into the break.

With the second half underway, the Seahawks capitalized on a golden opportunity in the 49th minute when the Bison were whistled for a hand ball in the box, setting up a penalty kick for Salve Regina. Demirgioglu took the kick for the Seahawks and finished into the lower right side of the net to tie the score at one goal apiece.

The score remained knotted at one when a Bison foul set up a free kick for Salve Regina from roughly 35 yards out. As Brigandi delivered the ball toward the far post, SRU freshman Andrew Chenard (Kingston, Mass.) flashed through the box, freezing the Nichols goalie in the process. However, when Chenard was unable to get a foot on Brigandi's free kick, the ball took one bounce and found the right side of the net for what turned out to be the game-winning score. 

Freshman Donny Whittle (Ellington, Conn.) made serval nice runs, totaling four shots the rest of the way for the Bison, but L'Heureux was up to the challenge each time, compiling all three of his saves over the final 31 minutes to seal the 2-1 victory for the Seahawks.

Courtesy Salve Regina Athletics