Box Score

MILTON, Mass. – The Nichols College men's soccer team closed the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) regular season with a scoreless tie at Curry College Tuesday night at Walter M. Katz Field.

The draw moves the Bison to 11-1-5 overall and 6-1-3 in the conference, which places them in a tie for the second place with Western New England. By virtue of a 2-0 loss at WNE earlier this season, Nichols will enter the playoffs as the No. 3 seed and host a CCC Quarterfinal match on Saturday.

Junior Jeremy Nash (West Springfield, Mass.) recorded six saves as Nichols outshot the Colonels 33-16 – including 9-3 in the extra sessions. Senior Nick Barber (Pittsfield, Mass.) was credited with 16 saves as Curry enters the playoffs with a mark of 7-7-4 (2-4-3 CCC).

Nichols controlled the first 20 minutes of play, taking an early 8-1 edge in shots. However, perhaps the best scoring chance of the opening half for either side came when Colonels sophomore Tim Stein (Smithfield, R.I.) ripped a shot that Nash dove and knocked away. The stanza closed with Nichols holding an 11-8 edge in shots.

The Bison continued to pressure the Colonels in the second half but were unable to break the tie. Senior Pat Gaumond (Holden, Mass.) chipped a feed from classmate and reigning CCC Offensive Player of the Week Fred Willard (Webster, Mass.) wide of the left post early on. Minutes later, Willard broke behind the defense and chipped one that was gobbled up by Barber. However, Nichols' best chance came when Willard ran down the left side and sent a cross to Gaumond that he tried to chip across his body and into the left side of the net, but Barber maintained his position and snatched the ball out of the air.

In overtime, Willard came the closest to ending the match when his long shot from the right side rang off the far left post. Gaumond also had a solid chance from the top of the box, but his shot missed the top right corner.

"This was one of those games where the opportunities presented themselves and we just couldn't find the back of the net," said Nichols head coach Chris Traina. "They're a very good team and this was a very physical match. We talk all season about finishing our opportunities – especially in crunch-time. I'm happy with the way we played, but we have to have more confidence when we're pulling the trigger."

Willard led all student-athletes with nine shots while Gaumond, senior Scott Palmerino (Southbridge, Mass.), and sophomore Tiago Prazeres (West Hartford, Conn.) each took five shots. Junior Nick Gilman (Longmeadow, Mass.) led Curry with five shots.

Curry will hit the road this Saturday for its CCC Quarterfinal match. Its opponent is TBD.