SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The top-seeded Western New England College men’s soccer team scored twice in the second half for a 3-1 victory over seventh-seeded Nichols in the championship match of The Commonwealth Coast Conference (TCCC) Men’s Soccer Tournament Saturday afternoon (Nov. 8) at rainy Suprenant Field.
Western New England College, ranked 12th nationally and second in the region, improved its record to 16-1-5 and extended its unbeaten streak to 21 matches.
It wasn’t easy, however, as the upstart Bison provided a challenging test in their inaugural conference final.
Western New England College took an early 1-0 lead when sophomore midfielder Alex Dos Santos fired home a shot followed a missed clear on a corner kick just 2:23 into the contest. It was the third goal of the season for Dos Santos.
Nichols tied the game when sophomore midfielder Mark Capitanio (Mansfield, Mass.) drilled home a long shot for his sixth goal of the year with an assist from sophomore midfielder Matthew Nash (West Springfield, Mass.) at exactly the 24-minute mark.
WNEC took the lead for good when senior defender Kevin Zimbal knocked home his third goal of the year off of a rebound following a shot by senior forward Dan Hare that hit the top of the crossbar at the 57:46 mark.
Junior midfielder Tony Rosa provided an important insurance goal with his first score of the season in the 70th minute.
Junior goalkeeper Kyle Bak compiled four saves in raising his record to 8-1-3.
Western New England College had a 30-10 advantage in shots and 9-4 edge in corner kicks.
Freshman keeper Brendan Hamilton (North Attleboro, Mass.) finished with 13 saves (eight in the second half) in a terrific performance for the Bison. He made several clutch stops, including one on a point-blank shot by Hare in the opening half, and two stops in the opening minute of the second period.
Nichols finished with an 11-9-1 record, which is its most wins since 1982 and second best in school history. The Bison upset second-seeded Roger Williams (1-0) and third-seeded Curry (2-1) to advance to the title game.