BOSTON, Mass. – Senior Scott Coderre's (Thompson, Conn.) goal in the early moments of the second half propelled the Nichols College men's soccer team to a 1-0 win over Wentworth in Commonwealth Coast Conference action on Sweeney Field.
Coderre nearly gave his team a 1-0 lead in the sixth minute of action when he had the Leopard defense beat and fired a shot towards an open net. However, a defender raced in and kicked the shot away, ending the scoring chance.
Both teams would have chances throughout the remainder of the opening stanza, but neither team could capitalize. Nichols held a 12-7 shot advantage through the first 45:00, including a 6-3 edge in shots on goal.
Just 1:26 into the second half Coderre gave Nichols a 1-0 lead when he rifled a shot from the top of the box and placed it in the upper left corner, just inside the post. Nichols had another open-net opportunity in the 57th minute but, again, the chance was thwarted by a Leopard backline player.
With just under two minutes left to play the Leopards had their best chance to tie the game as senior Richie Harvey (Standish, Maine) was served a cross and flicked a header towards the net. However, freshman Francesco Chiaravalloti (Torrington, Conn.), who had entered the game less than a minute earlier, made a key stop to keep the Bison in front.
Freshman Alex Geas (Somers, Conn.) made five saves in 87:07 of work to improve to 9-6 on the year while Chiaravalloti made one stop in 2:53 of work. Wentworth junior Cody Gibb (Foster, R.I.) made nine saves. The Bison held a 21-12 shot advantage and an 8-5 edge in corner kicks.
Nichols improves to 11-6-0 overall (5-3 CCC) and closes out the regular season on Tuesday at Salve Regina. Wentworth falls to 1-11-3 (1-5-2) and hosts Endicott on Wednesday.
