DUDLEY, Mass. – The Nichols College men's soccer team clinched a Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) postseason bid with a 2-1 victory over the University of New England on a wet and windy Tuesday afternoon in CCC action at the Nichols Soccer Field.
 
The Bison scored a pair of first half goals and held off a strong push from the Nor'Easters in the second half to come out with the one-goal victory. Nichols has earned the No. 7 seed in the tournament and will be on the road on Saturday with game time and location still to be determined.
 
Nichols opened the scoring in the 19th minute when freshman Ali Ali (West Springfield, Mass.) came racing down the left side and used a nifty dribble move to lose his defender. Ali lofted a cross into the center of the box where it found the head of senior Paul Sickinger (Tyngsboro, Mass.) and landed in the back of the net for the 1-0 advantage.
 
The Bison added an insurance goal in the 32nd minute as Nichols controlled possession inside the UNE box. The ball ended up at the feet of sophomore Matt Baker (Rollinsford, N.H.) and he slipped a pass to the top of the box to graduate student Ryan Banker (Ashaway, R.I.). Banker blasted a shot that worked its way through the defense and inside the right side of the net to make it a 2-0 game.
 
The Nor'Easters kept up pressure in the second stanza and finally broke through in the 77th minute. After the ball was crossed to the top of the 18, sophomore Chris Hartin (Rockaway, N.J.) left a touch pass to classmate Caleb Demello (Easthampton, Mass.) and he fired into the net to cut the deficit in half.
 
UNE nearly tied the game in the 87th minute as a long throw in led to another shot attempt for Demello, but his attempt was cleared away by freshman Ryan Fraleigh (Rocky Hill, Conn.) before it could cross the line and the Bison were able to run out the clock on the game.
 
Nichols held a slight 17-15 edge in shots in the game, while the Nor'Easters attempted both corner kicks in the contest.
 
Junior Patrick Porpora (Westminster, Mass.) registered three saves in the game to earn his sixth win of the season. UNE junior Nathan Delesdernier (Niantic, Conn.) stopped eight shots in the setback.
 
All-Time Series
Today marked the 24th meeting between the two programs, and the Bison hold a 16-6-2 edge in the series dating back to 1995.
 
Quotes
"To put it as blunt as possible, we needed to show what we were capable of today. The weather leveled the playing field, but our guys came out as I had hoped they would. We had a few chances to put the 'nail in the coffin' but still managed to defend well and get the much needed conference win. We now look forward to see who we will be playing on Saturday." – Head coach Chris Traina
 
Next Match
Nichols (7-8-2, 3-6-0 CCC) – Saturday, Oct. 28, CCC Quarterfinals
U New England (4-14-0, 3-6-0 CCC) – Saturday, Oct. 28, CCC Quarterfinals