Mills' Late Game-Winner Leads Men's Soccer Past Suffolk, 1-0

EAST BOSTON, Mass. — The Endicott men's soccer team held on for a gritty 1-0 win against Suffolk in a top-of-the-table Conference of New England (CNE) clash on Tuesday night at East Boston Memorial Park.

The Blue and Green opened the game quickly, firing off six shots inside the first 15 minutes. 

The Gulls had their best chance of the half in the 32nd minute when they were awarded a penalty after a foul in the box. However, the Suffolk goalkeeper saved the shot to preserve the deadlock. 

Tiago Frazao (Trumbull, Conn.) looked to have found the opener just nine minutes later when he slotted the ball into the bottom right corner, but the goal was disallowed, as the graduate student was judged to be offsides.

The game remained scoreless as the halftime buzzer sounded with the hosts leading the shot total, 8-7.

The first 33 minutes of the second half were much of the same, with both teams going back-and-forth throughout. In a game that increasingly looked like it would end scoreless, Fisher Mills (Ridgefield, Conn.) provided the defining moment as he dispossessed a Suffolk defender, dribbled the ball into the box, and fired a shot across goal to give Endicott the lead in the 78th minute. 

Suffolk sent everything forward looking for an equalizer, but was stone-walled by the Endicott defense in the final minutes as the score remained 1-0 until the final whistle. 

Endicott goalkeeper Brady O'Toole (Concord, Mass.) recorded three saves in the win, improving his record to 8-1-1 on his rookie campaign.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• The Gulls evened the all-time series at 4-4 with tonight's road victory. Until tonight, the Rams had taken the last four matchups between the two squads.
• Prior to tonight's game, the Gulls were listed as "Receiving Votes" in the latest United Soccer Coaches Division III National Poll.
• Endicott sits atop the Conference of New England standings five points clear with two games remaining. 
• Mills has now scored in each of the last two games for the Gulls. This past Saturday, he notched his first career goal in the home win over Western New England.
• The contest featured seven yellow cards between the two teams.

WHAT'S NEXT

Endicott (10-4-2, 7-0-0 CNE) hosts Nichols at 3 PM on Saturday, October 26 for Senior Day festivities at Hempstead Stadium. Suffolk (8-6-3, 5-1-1 CNE) hosts Roger Williams on Saturday for a 3 PM CNE contest. 

For the latest on Endicott Athletics, follow the Gulls on social media on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.

(Photo Credit - Jonah Bean '28)