NEWTON, Mass. (9/17/2025) – The Nichols Men's Soccer team returned to action in Newton, Massachusetts, for a non‑conference match against Lasell University. Upperclassmen William Pugliese-Savage and Carl Headges-Small led the way, pushing the Bison past the Lasers to earn head coach Marco DeVito his first win as a collegiate head coach. Final score of the match: 2-0.
 
After the win, the Bison now stand at 1-4-2 (0-1 CNE), while Lasell University moves to 2-3-1.
 
In the 8th minute, the Bison almost got to the perfect start when Avery Morse sent in a cross to Ethan Knowles, who hit a one-time shot that required a diving save from Lasell's goalkeeper.
 
Nichols carried this momentum, and after five more minutes of play, they found the breakthrough through William Pugliese-Savage. After the ball was ricocheting in the box, Carl Headges-Small headed the ball across the box for the waiting striker, who calmly finished the chance. Pugliese-Savage now has 4 goals on the season.
 
Pugliese-Savage found himself one-on-one with the Lasell goalkeeper in the 25th minute, but the freshman goalkeeper Reed Brown came up big for the Lasers to keep the score at 1-0. This scoreline carried into halftime, as neither team could capitalize on their chances for the rest of the first half.
 
The Lasers switched the script at the start of the second half, as they controlled the momentum for the first 10 minutes of the half. Despite the increase in possession, the Lasers could not find a way through the Bison's defense.
 
Nichols' goalkeeper Derek Axon didn't see much action in the match but stepped up when called upon in the 58th minute.  Laser's forward Dino Celikovic slipped behind the Bison's back line and only had Axon to beat, but Axon was up for the challenge and made the crucial save to keep the clean sheet alive.
 
Opportunities fell to both teams, but it was the Bison who put the dagger into the heart with an 86th minute goal from a free kick. Lukas Salvador delivered the ball into the back post to senior Carl Headges-Small, who headed the ball down into the net to put the game out of reach for the Lasers. The game ended 2-0 in favor of the Bison.

Derek Axon played the complete 90 minutes, recording a clean sheet and seven saves in the match.
 
Nichols men's soccer team continues their road trip when they travel to the University of New England on Saturday, September 20th, for their first road Conference of New England match of the season. Kickoff is set for 12 PM at the Barbara J. Hazard Field.