WESTON, Mass. – A pair of first half goals proved to be enough for the Regis College men's soccer team to get past league-leading Mitchell College, 2-0 on Saturday afternoon in what was the final New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) game of the regular season for both teams. With the win, the Pride improve to 7-8-2 overall and 4-2-1 in league play. Mitchell drops to 7-10 on the season, 5-2 in the NECC.
Prior to the game, ten seniors were recognized for their contributions to the program over the last four years. These players include Stefan Todorovic (Los Angeles, Calif.), Sean O'Brien (Westerly, R.I.), Chris Millington (Huntington, N.Y.), Nick Tavares (Bellingham, Mass.), Billy Sedewitz (Framingham, Mass.), Alex Caliendo (Windsor, Conn.), Jeff Parrish (Framingham, Mass.), Angel Aguilar (Silver Springs, Md.), Ricardo Argueta (Los Angeles, Calif.), and Ibrahim Alpha (Pennsauken, N.J.).
Freshman Jai Pandit (Parland, Fla.) found the back of the net in the 13th minute of play for his first collegiate goal to put the Pride up 1-0 early. Sophomore midfielder Christian Mukala (Malden, Mass.) took a shot that was initially saved by goalkeeper Ramazan Sinani (Waterbury, Conn.), but Pandit crashed the net and knocked in the rebound.
Argueta also struck for his first goal of the season to put Regis ahead by two in the 43rd minute. Caliendo sent a long throw into the box, which a Mitchell defender struck out of the air to clear the ball from danger. Unfortunately for the Mariners, his clear attempt found the feet of a wide open Argueta, who blasted a shot into the top right corner from behind the 18 yard line.
The second half was full of back-and-forth action, as both teams traded for possession throughout. With time winding down, the Mariners began to pick up their intensity and apply pressure on the Pride. With about 12 minutes remaining in regulation, freshman Andrew Nigro (E. Granby, Conn.) had Mitchell's best scoring chance of the game.
Nigro received a through ball and went one-on-one with Regis goalkeeper Todorovic. Todorovic came off his line and stopped Nigro's shot attempt to keep Mitchell off the scoreboard.
Led by Caliendo, Tavares, and freshman Marek Kotecki (Milton, Mass.), the Pride backline was solid all game, preventing Mitchell from taking any shots in the first half and just two shots on goal all game.
Both the Pride and Mariners have qualified for the upcoming NECC playoffs, which begin this Wednesday, Oct. 30. Both teams will await the final seedings to determine their opponents.