NEW LONDON, Conn. (2/24/2024) –  With just one second remaining in overtime, senior Colby Gillis blew a shot past Matt Reheuser to clinch a 7-6 victory for the Nichols Men's lacrosse Team over Coast Guard Academy on Saturday afternoon at Cadet Memorial Field in non-conference action.

Nichols now holds a 2-0 record (0-0 CCC), while Coast Guard falls to 0-2 on the young season. 

Graduate Student Blake Covell and sophomore Conor Doherty each scored a pair of goals to lead all Bison scorers. Junior Dylan DeRubeis chipped in with a goal and an assist. Sophomore Joey LaChance and senior Colby Gillis, also added goals for the visitors. 

It took less than two minutes for the Bison to find the back of the net as  Covell worked his way through the Bears' defense, and converted on the man-up opportunity to take a 1-0 lead for the visitors. The Bears continued to press and equalized to make the score 1-1 with four minutes to play in the first quarter. Doherty then slotted his fourth goal of the year to help the Bison finish the quarter with a 2-1 advantage.  

The second quarter belonged to the Bears as they scored two unanswered goals within 30 seconds to take a 3-2 lead into halftime. Coast Guard kept the momentum going coming out of the half as they scored a third consecutive goal to increase their lead to 4-2 with ten minutes to play in the third quarter. Covell shifted the momentum by slotting home his second man-up goal of the contest to end the quarter with a 4-3 deficit. 

Coast Guard responded by scoring just two minutes into the fourth quarter to regain the two-goal lead. However, the Bison were not deterred as they scored three straight goals from three different Bison: LaChance, DeRubeis, and Doherty with his second. With 14 seconds left in the fourth quarter the Bears found the equalizer and send the game into overtime. 

The lone shot for the Bison in overtime came at the hands of  Gillis with just one second left when he found the back of the net, with a no look shot that beat the Bears' goalie and helped the Bison take home the win in stunning fashion. 

Between the pipes for the Bison, junior Brady Morgan recorded 19 saves on the 25 shots that he faced and improved his record to 2-0 on the year. 

The win marked the first matchup ever between the two programs.  

The Bison will return to action this Saturday, March 2nd at home as they are set to take on Emmanuel College in non-conference action. Game time is set for 4 PM at Vendetti Field.