DUDLEY, Mass. (8/31/2025) – The Nichols College Men's Soccer team battled in a back-and-forth game against the University of Maine Farmington in a non-conference match, but would ultimately come up short on their senior day 4-3.  

 
The Bison now fall to 0-2 overall on the season, while the University of Maine Farmington starts the season off 1-0.  

William Pugliese-Savage opened up the scoring for the Bison in the 10th minute when Carl Headges-Small won a 50/50 challenge and played a square ball across the box for Pugliese-Savage to finish.  

The University of Maine Farmington was quick to respond as the Beavers launched a counterattack with a long ball from Arden Weaver, which Owen Spera chased onto and slotted into the bottom left corner of the net.  

The goals continued as three minutes later, Bison freshman Avery Morse found himself behind the back line after a nice move inside, and unleashed a shot that hit off the right post and in.  

But the Beavers were not done, as Owen Spera added two more goals: one in the 23rd minute and the other in the 36th minute. The freshman's three goals were only 21 minutes apart from each other. The game would go into halftime at 3-2 in favor of the Beavers. 

Carl Headges-Small would start the second half by flicking on a header to score a goal that would earn him 3 points on his senior day. The momentum from Headges-Small's goal would quickly fade as Jack Luciano would score for the Beavers in the 55th minute, which would go down as the game winner for the University of Maine Farmington. 

The Bison senior honorees Carl Headges-Small, Mick Tarozzi, Cody Porter, Derek Axon, and William Pugliese-Savage all played key roles on the day for the Bison. Derek Axon registered 3 saves in his 90 minutes in the net. 

The men's soccer team will be back at home next Saturday when they host Western Connecticut State in a non-conference match. Time for kickoff is set for 1 PM on the Nichols Soccer Field.