NEWTON, Mass. – Despite outshooting the Lasell Lasers, Regis College was unable to pull ahead of the home team, as the two Great Northeast Athletic Conference rivals drew to a 1-1 tie Wednesday afternoon in a men's collegiate soccer match at Taylor Field.
After a scoreless first half, Lasell struck first when Sawyer Geelan intercepted a Regis clearing attempt after a Lasell corner kick and blasted a shot into the net for his second goal of the season in the 60th minute. The Pride quickly looked for the tying goal, but a header shot by Derek Triana (Port St. Lucie, Fla.) sailed wide and another one by Diego Roman (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico) was stopped by Lasell reserve goalie Teo Cugno.
In the 68th minute, Regis notched the equalizer as Cesar Da Silva (Boca Raton, Fla.) stayed with the play after initially losing the ball in the box, beating Cugno for his first goal of the season. After the Pride failed to convert on subsequent chances in the second half, Lasell had a golden opportunity to go ahead, but Regis goalie Ivan Ramirez (San Juan, Puerto Rico), making the first start of his collegiate career, was able to turn away a shot by Nathan Smith in the final minutes of regulation.
Jackson Burhans, Lasell's starting goalie who left the contest late in the first half due to injury, returned for the overtime periods and kept the match going with three saves. Meanwhile, Ramirez was challenged twice by Jake Oullette, once in each extra session, but he was up to the task as all 20 minutes of overtime were played without a game-winning tally.
The Pride created a couple offensive opportunities early in the match, but shots by Roman and Brendan Plasczynski (Bristol, Conn.) were turned away by Burhans. Midway through the first half, Regis earned consecutive scoring chances, but Burhans stopped shots by Plasczynski and Fabyanno Furbino (Port St. Lucie, Fla.).
Lasell (1-3-2, 0-2-2 GNAC) earned its best opportunity late in the first half as Oullette made a rush with two minutes remaining, but Ramirez was able to corral the ball for the save. Ramirez finished with seven saves while Burhans and Cugno combined for 16 saves as the Pride outshot the Lasers, 24-13.
Triana led the Pride with eight total shots, including four shots on goal, while all four of Roman's shots were on net. Oullette by far led the Lasers with seven total shots, including three shots on goal, and Smith was the only other Lasell player with more than one shot in the match as he took two shots.
Regis (3-2-1, 1-2-1 GNAC) concludes this stretch of five straight road matches Saturday, Sept. 22, at Saint Joseph's College starting at 5 p.m. The Pride play their first home contest in three weeks Wednesday, Sept. 26, against Suffolk starting at 4 p.m. at Regis Stadium.