Sept. 6, 2003
BEVERLY, MA- The Endicott College men's soccer team (1-1-0) inaugurated the new Multi-Purpose Stadium with a 3-0 win over conference foe Nichols College (0-2-0) today. Coming off a tough 4-1 loss at non-conference Brandeis Thursday night, the Endicott men's soccer team dominated today in their first home game of the 2003 season.
It seemed like it was going to be an even match for the Endicott Gulls and Nichols Bison as the ball was controlled equally by both in the first 30 minutes of play. But then with 12 minutes left to go in the first half Endicott took the lead 1-0 when junior defender Ryan Vigilant (Westford, MA/Westford Academy) nailed home a cross from junior midfielder Kyle Austin (Keene, NH/Keene).
From then on Endicott College never looked back. In the 29th minute of the second half, the Gulls extended the lead to 2-0 when junior striker Josh Lewis (Groveland, MA/Pentucket Regional) finished a set play off a direct kick. Just 9 minutes later Kyle Austin led freshman striker Chris Croteau (Groveland, MA/Pentucket Regional) on a break away. Croteau's first collegiate goal capped the score at 3-0.
Endicott senior goalkeeper, Mitch Donar (Vassalboro, ME/Erskine Academy), collected seven saves in the shut out while Nichols sophomore goalkeeper Charles Cunnion (Auburn, MA/Auburn) stopped six shots on net. The Endicott Gulls who only outshot Nichols by one, 14-13, were able to finish around the net when it counted.
Endicott will look to extend their record to 2-1 this Tuesday, September 9th at 4:00 in Newport, RI against conference powerhouse Salve Regina. Nichols, who beat Endicott in overtime 5-4 last year, fell to Clark 1-2 in their season opener on Thursday night. Nichols will continue play Thursday, September 11th at home verse Elms.
Second year Endicott Head Coach Stefano Franciosa led last year's 2002 team to a 9-9-1 finish, fifth overall in the Commonwealth Coast Conference. Today's game kicked off the first of three, as the Endicott College football team and women's soccer team will also open at home at 2:30pm and 7pm respectively.