NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Championship Release

DUDLEY, Mass. – The Nichols College men's soccer team will play host to UMass Boston in the First Round of the NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Championship on Thursday, November 13 at 1 p.m. at Vendetti Field.

"It will be a good match against a good opponent," said Nichols head coach and Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Coach of the Year Chris Traina. "Everyone wants to move on in the tournament and we will try and do what we need to do to make that happen."

The Bison (14-2-4) are appearing in the NCAA Tournament for the second time in five seasons (2010) after earning the conference's automatic berth with a 2-1 win over Gordon College in double-overtime in the conference championship match Saturday night. After a scoreless first overtime in which each team recorded one shot, sophomore Ian Miller (Shrewsbury, Mass.) split the defense and fired a shot from thirty yards out that found the lower left corner of the net at 103:17. The goal was his third of the season.

Upon hearing of Nichols' first round matchup, senior captain Michael Perry (Plainville, Mass.) explained, "It is awesome feeling knowing we're able to play at home in front of our fans. There's no better feeling."

Freshman Rielee Mohsin (Stuart, Fla.) leads Nichols with eight goals and 19 points. Perry leads the team and ranks fourth in the conference with five assists while Mohsin boasts a team-high four game-winning goals – including the game-winner against the University of New England in the CCC Quarterfinal round. Both were CCC First Team selections.

On the defensive side of the ball, the Bison enter the NCAA Tournament with the top defense in the conference, having allowed just 13 goals on the year. Senior Jeremy Nash (West Springfield, Mass.) – who came into the season having the lowest career goals against average (GAA) in a career in program history – found himself on top of the conference this season with a 0.49 GAA. He owns a 9-1-3 record with seven of his wins coming by way of shutout. For his efforts, Nash was named to the CCC Second Team.

UMass Boston (14-5-2) punched its ticket into the NCAA Tournament after winning its first-ever Little East Conference (LEC) Championship with a 2-1 victory over Keene State (12-7-1). Playing in their first-ever LEC Title Game against the team with more LEC titles than any other side, sophomore Edmilson Barros (Praia, Cape Verde) rose above a crowd of players in the Keene State goal box and rammed home a senior Douglas Silveira (Revere, Mass.) corner kick in double OT to give the Beacons' their first-ever trip to the Division III Men's Soccer NCAA Tournament.

The Beacons – who, like Nichols, were also the No. 1 seed in their conference tournament – returned three All-Little East honorees from a year ago, including Barros, who was named the LEC Rookie of the Year in 2013. UMass Boston is led by junior Pedro Dasilva (Fogo, Cape Verde) and his conference-best 13 goals – including five game-winners. His 27 points on the season were good enough for second in the conference. Junior goaltender Alfonso Rosales (Revere, Mass.) finished the year with an 11-4-2 record and five shutouts. Rosales posted a 0.83 GAA – second best in the LEC.

UMB has scored a LEC-leading 58 goals on the year in just 23 games while allowing only 24 goals this season.

Nichols hosted an NCAA First Round contest in 2010, when it was defeated by Eastern Connecticut State, 1-0. Traina, meanwhile, is 0-2 all-time in the NCAA Tournament, having also been the coach of the women's soccer team which lost 4-0 to Tufts in the 2002 NCAA Tournament First Round.

While both schools are only 60 miles apart, this will be the first-ever meeting between UMass Boston and Nichols in men's soccer.

Admission to the contest is $6 for fans and $3 for students of either institution with ID. Tickets are available at the Vendetti Field gate.