DUDLEY, Mass. – Senior David Melanson (Simsbury, Conn.) and sophomore Gregory Giglio (Deer Park, N.Y.) scored their first goals of the season as the Nichols College men's soccer team fell 3-2 to New England College in non-conference action Saturday afternoon at the Nichols Soccer Field.
 
The Bison outshot the Pilgrims 28-12, including 17-6 in the first half and carried a 1-0 edge into the break. At 7:04 of the first half Melanson put it through some traffic and by junior goaltender Dylan Mix (Charlestown, N.H.) to open up the scoring.
 
NEC counted back with its first goal a little over four minutes into the second half when sophomore Cooper Valinski (Portsmouth, N.H.) hit a touch pass through the defense and junior Camille Sheehan (Watertown, Mass.) beat the keeper to the bottom left of the net.
 
Senior Ronsard Masamba (Haverhill, Mass.) gave the Pilgrims their first advantage of the game with a goal at 63:32, however, the Bison answered right back with a goal of their own. In the 66th minute, Giglio scored the equalizer with a helper from junior Paul Sickinger (Tyngsboro, Mass.).
 
NEC didn't allow much time before taking the lead again when at 68:23 sophomore Miguel Argueta (Norwalk, Conn.) scored his first goal of the season when he connected from just outside the 18 into the upper right corner of the net.
 
Freshman Juan Carlos De La Cruz (Stamford, Conn.) made four saves in the first start of his career and takes the loss. Mix started the game for the Pilgrims and made seven saves while freshman Samuel Thompson (Chelmsford, Mass.) played the entire second half and made four stops to earn his first-collegiate victory.
 
All-Time Series
The loss is the second consecutive loss for the Bison against the Pilgrims, however, Nichols still holds the edge in the all-time series at 17-11-4.
 
Next Games
Nichols (0-2) – Wednesday, September 7 vs Brandeis, 4:00 p.m.
New England Col. (2-0) – Sunday, September 4 vs Plymouth St., 5:00 p.m.