Gulls Tie Bison 1-1 in CCC Showdown; Slobotzky Scores for Fourth Straight Game

DUDLEY, Mass. – The Endicott men's soccer team traveled to Nichols on Friday night for a Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) matchup. Senior striker, Diego Slobotzky (Mexico City, Mexico) notched his fourth straight game with a goal as he helped secure the 1-1 stalemate. Endicott remains undefeated in the past four straight games improving to 3-3-1 (1-0-1 CCC) while the Bison remain undefeated at 5-0-2 (1-0-1 CCC).

Endicott will see action next on Tuesday, September 23^rd as they host Rivier for a 7:00 p.m. non-conference matchup at Endicott Stadium. The Bison will play next on Wednesday, September 24^th when they host non-conference opponent Daniel Webster for a 4:00 p.m. contest.

The first half was a battle as the Bison just outshot the Gulls 8-4. The Blue and Green got on the board first in the 32^nd minute as freshman Carter Ocko (Danvers, Mass.) took the throw in and sent the ball into the box where Slobotzky was able to control the bobble and blast the ball into the back of the net for the 1-0 lead.

The Bison would not let the lead last for long as senior Phil Mitto (Windsor, Conn.) headed a ball sent in by sophomore Felipe Schiller de Rezende (Sau Paulo, Brazil) into the top corner to tie up with game with five minutes to go in the first half.

The second half was a tougher battle as neither side could break the tie for the second 45 minutes of play. The Bison worked senior goalkeeper Alex Jorge (Billerica, Mass.) blasting nine shots in the half forcing him to make four huge saves for the Blue and Green.

In the opening minutes of the half Nichols came in hard on the Endicott defense however the tough line of senior Jed Magnusson (Kingston, N.H.), freshman Ryan Cohane (Easton, Conn.) and Ocko, under the leadership of Jorge, kept the Bison off the board.

After both sides worked their respected final thirds for 45 minutes the match was still held to a tie forcing extra time.

In the first overtime period Jorge made one big stop while junior Abdulla Al Khalifa (Riffa, Bahrain) had an opportunity of his own but senior goalkeeper Jeremy Nash (West Springfield, Mass.) was able to make the save. After the first overtime period produced no goals by either side a second overtime period was underway.

The Bison opened up shooting as sophomore David Melanson (Simsbury, Conn.) ripped a shot at goal but Jorge was able to make the impressive save to keep the game in play. The shot would be the only by either side ending the conference matchup in a tie.

The Blue and Green fought a hard battle to a team that ousted them from the CCC tournament just a year ago. Jorge walked away with a season high nine saves while his counterpart Nash came out with two.