WESTON, Mass. - After over 80 scoreless minutes of a physical and action packed game, Lesley University scored in the 83rd minute of play and held on to defeat the Pride in a New England Collegiate Conference men's soccer Semifinal matchup. With the loss, Regis concludes its season with an 8-11 mark, the best record in the program's five year history.
Regis came out pressuring early in the first half, forcing Lynx goalie Nigel Leahy (New Paltz, N.Y.) to make a save on forward Christian Mukala's (Malden, Mass.) shot attempt within the opening minutes of play.
Lesley came around in the 20th minute as Ryan Richardson (Santa Barbara, Calif.) sent a corner into the box that Darius Koep (Pittstown, N.J.) headed off the cross bar as the game remained scoreless heading into the half.
The defensive stand-off continued well into the second half as both teams locked down the others offense. The Lynx finally broke through at the 82:25 mark on a low driving shot by senior midfielder Ari Sinanis (Guilford, Conn.). Koep was credited with the assist on the play. It was Sinanis' seventh goal of the season.
Pride goalkeeper Stefan Todorovic (Los Angeles, Calif.) finished the game with two saves.
Lesley, which improves to 12-4-2, will face Elms College in the NECC Final on Sunday. The Blazers defeated Mitchell College in the other NECC Semifinal by a score of 3-2 to advance.