Men's Soccer Comeback Falls Just Short on Senior Day

BOSTON, Mass. – Three different Nichols College men's soccer student-athletes scored goals and graduate student Nikolas Padilla (Worcester, Mass.) had a pair of assists as the Bison fended off a late comeback by Wentworth Institute of Technology, 3-2, in Commonwealth Coast Conference play Saturday afternoon.

With the win the Bison improve to 7-5-2 overall and 2-2-2 in league play while the Leopards fall to 3-10-1 (1-5-0).

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• The second Wentworth foul of the game set up the first Nichols goal as Padilla sent a free kick from 35 yards out towards the box where sophomore Carl Hedges-Small (Boston, Mass.) beat Leopard senior Louis Quintero (Boston, Mass.) with a shot inside the near post.
• The Leopards had a paid of attempts to tie the game over the course of the next four and a half minutes, including when senior Jacob Dukeshire (Nashua, N.H.) put a shot on net that was saved by junior Franco Barreto Santana (Leominster, Mass.).
• At the 8:03 mark, the Bison increased their lead to 2-0 as Padilla notched his second helper of the contest when he sent a long pass to freshman Noah Johnson (Lithonia, Ga.), who took a shot that hit the left post and ricocheted across the goal mouth, off the right post, and in.
• In a two-minute span, Wentworth had three shot attempts, with one being saved off a senior Nile Keiller (Bowie, Md.) bid, and another by junior Christopher Jimenez (Doral, Fla.) blocked. At 15:50, Nichols made it a 3-0 lead when sophomore Tristan Phillips (Rosedale, N.Y.) sent a pass to classmate Brady Stevenson (Middletown, Conn.), who put home a low shot to the left side.
• Wentworth nearly got on the board in the 58th minute when senior Luke Williams (Guilford, Vt.) put a shot on net but a diving stop by Barreto Santana kept the hosts off the board. Barreto Santana made a save on a Williams shot in the 58th minute before the Black & Gold got on the board. A foul in the box gave Wentworth a penalty kick. Jimenez stepped up to the line and buried the shot for his fourth marker of the season.
• The teams traded shots on net in the 77th and 78th minutes before Quintero kept Nichols at bay with a diving save in the 79th minute. Dukeshire nearly cut the lead to 3-2 with a header in the 83rd minute but Barreto Santana made a save right in front. Keiller had a bid in the 88th minute which was tipped over the cross bar. The ensuing corner kick would not lead to a scoring chance for the Leopards.
• With time winding down, Wentworth pulled within one. Freshman Sebastian Divo (Newton, Mass.) had a throw in and threw the ball toward the box. Dukeshire headed the ball towards Keiller across the box, who deposited the shot to the lower right corner. However, that would be as close the Black & Gold would get.
• Barreto Santana made eight saves for Nichols. Quitero made seven saves for Wentworth. The Leopards had a 19-16 shot advantage while the Bison had a 4-3 edge on corner kicks.

ALL-TIME SERIES:

• Wentworth leads the all-time series, 23-15-1.

NEXT UP:

• Wentworth hosts the University of Hartford Wednesday at 4:00 p.m.

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