Boston, Mass. (4/20/24) - The Nichols College Men's Lacrosse team fell in a double-overtime thriller loss to Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) foe, Wentworth on Saturday Evening by a final score of 8-7.
With the loss, the Bison drop to an even 8-8 (3-3 CCC) while the Leopards improve to 12-4 (4-2 CCC).
Colby Gillis opened the scoring for the Bison just two minutes into the contest by taking a feed from Ryan Warner and slotting his shot past the Leopard goalkeeper and into the back of the net to give Nichols a 1-0 lead. The Leopards responded with a goal at the 10:49 mark to bring the game level at 1-1. The Leopards continued to keep the pressure on, scoring on a man-up opportunity to end the first quarter up 2-1.
Wentworth carried their scoring form into the second frame, by adding another goal less than 90 seconds into the quarter and improving their lead to 3-1. Dylan DeRubeis stopped the Leopard run by converting from close range off of a slick Joey Lechance pass to bring the Bison back within one. The Leopards scored the final goal of the half with just over six minutes remaining to give the Leopards a 4-2 lead heading into the break.
The Bison switched momentum in the third quarter when Blake Covell scored on the Bison's second man-up opportunity of the game to bring the Bison within one before back-to-back goals from Colby Gillis gave Nichols a 5-4 lead with six minutes to play in the period. The Leopards responded with back-to-back goals of their own to bring the score to 6-5 in favor of Wentworth heading into the fourth frame.
Conor Doherty provided the equalizer for the Bison with 11 minutes to play to bring the score to 6-6. The Leopards responded just 90 seconds later on a power play opportunity to retake the lead with 10 minutes to play. All hope seemed lost for the Bison but Doherty provided last-minute heroics by finding the back of the net with just six seconds left to force overtime.
Both teams traded opportunities to no avail as neither side was able to score in the overtime period forcing a second frame. In the second overtime, the Bison failed to clear the ball after killing a power-play and ultimately allowed the final blow with 50 seconds left to play in the period.
Junior goalkeeper Brady Morgan recorded 17 saves on 25 shots and picked up three ground balls in the contest. With the loss, Morgan's record drops to 8-8.
Up next, the Bison return home for the final game of the regular season for a matchup against Western New England University on Wednesday, April 24 at 7:00 p.m. on Vendetti Field.
