CCC TOURNAMENT: No. 1 Endicott Men's Soccer Hosts Curry In Quarterfinals

Posted: Oct 29, 2015

SPRINGFIELD, Mass.- After posting a 13-1-3 record overall in regular season play that saw the Gulls go 8-0-1 in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) matches, the Endicott men's soccer team has been tabbed the No. 1 seed as announced by the Conference Commissioner on Tuesday evening.

The championship tournament will begin with quarterfinals matchups on campus sites this coming Saturday, October 31 with Endicott set to host the No. 8 seed, Curry College at 12:00 p.m. The Colonials posted a 10-8-1 record on the year and received the No. 8 seed after going 2-6-1 in conference play.

PREVIOUS MATCHUP: In the regular season meeting between the two teams on Oct. 10, 2015 in Milton, Mass., senior midfielder Shintaroh Itoh (Nerima, Tokyo, Japan) scored in the 103rd minute for the Gulls to claim a 2-1 double-overtime victory over the Colonels. It was the fifth straight win for Endioctt over Curry and 15t all-time as Endicott is now 15-3 overall and 8-1 at home against the Colonels.

PLAYOFF HISTORY: Endicott defeated Curry in its only head-to-head postseason matchup in the 2014 ECAC Division III New England Semifinals, winning 4-3 on Nov. 15, 2014 at home, as three current Gulls scored in that game: Diego Slobotzky (Mexico City, Mexico), Mark Greco (Belchertown, Mass.), and Tyler Johnson (Carver, Mass.).

PLAYOFF HISTORY: The men have now qualified for the conference tournament in the past six consecutive years, and 15 of the 21 years since Endicott moved to NCAA Division III. The Gulls will be in search of their first-ever CCC Title and first under fifth-year head coach Joe Calabrese whose program hoisted an ECAC Championship trophy last season.

ENDICOTT (13-1-3, 8-0-1 CCC) | STATISTICS | SCHEDULE: The Gulls finished the regular season on a 13-match unbeaten streak, as the 2015 squad is first in program history in shutouts (11), points per game (5.50), goals per game (2.00) and assists per game (1.20). The 2015 Gulls are also third in program history in goals (33), assists (24) and points (88). The 2015 team is one win shy of tying the all-time wins record (14) set by the 1998 GNAC-Championship winning squad.

Endicott is led up front by senior forward Abdulla Al Khalifa (Riffa, Bahrain), sophomore forward Diego Maillo (Plantation, Fla.) and senior midfielder Shintaroh Itoh (Nerima, Tokyo, Japan). Al Khalifa leads the team with eight goals, three assists, and 19 points. Maillo is second on the team with seven goals (four game-winners), two assists and 16 points. Itoh paces the team with seven assists to go with four goals, including two huge golden goals in overtime this season and is second-best in the CCC in assists. The Endicott back line is anchored by sophomore back Carter Ocko (Danvers, Mass.), junior back Ryan Cohane (Easton, Conn.), and freshman back Bobby Ivatts (Walpole, Mass.). Junior Nick Weinstein (Trumbull, Conn.) is in goal (13-1-2) and boasts a CCC-best .893 save percentage, goals against average (0.48) and fewest goals allowed (8).

CURRY (10-8-1, 2-6-1 CCC) | STATISTICS | SCHEDULE: The Colonels opened the season by winning their first nine matches in a row, before losing eight of their last 10 to end the regular season. Curry is led by senior forward Matt Cotnoir (Longmeadow, Mass.) with seven goals, six assists, and 20 points. Junior goalkeeper Dan Johnson (Easton, Conn.) posted a 10-8-1 record on the season with five shutouts and made a CCC-leading 121 saves.

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2015 CCC MEN'S SOCCER CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE
All Start Times Subject to Change

Quarterfinals • Saturday, October 31
#8 Curry (10-8-1, 2-6-1) at #1 Endicott (13-1-3, 8-0-1), 12:00 p.m.
#7 Nichols (7-11-0, 3-6-0) at #2 Western New England (10-7-0, 8-1-0), 1:00 p.m.
#6 Roger Williams (8-8-1, 4-5-0) at #3 Gordon (12-4-0, 7-2-0), 1:00 p.m.
#5 Salve Regina (6-9-2, 4-4-1) at #4 Wentworth (13-4-0, 6-3-0), 3:00 p.m.

Semifinals • Tuesday, November 3
1/8 winner vs. 4/5 winner, TBA (at higher seed)
2/7 winner vs. 3/6 winner, TBA (at higher seed)

Championship Match • Saturday, November 7
Semifinal Winners, TBA (at higher seed)