Men's Soccer Falls 2-0 to Regis in Regular Season Finale

NEW LONDON, Conn. – A pair of second-half scores propelled Regis College to a 2-0 victory over Mitchell College in a New England Collegiate Conference men's soccer match-up on Saturday afternoon at Alumni Field.

Don Gomez netted the game-winning goal in the 76th minute and Brendan Plasczynski added an insurance score just under two minutes later as Regis improved to 8-10-0 overall and 4-3-0 in the conference. Goalkeeper Manny Calderon finished with five saves to record his second clean sheet of the year.

The match served as the regular season finale for each team. Both Regis and Mitchell (9-9-1 overall, 4-3-0 NECC) have qualified for the 2014 NECC Men's Soccer Championship, which begins with quarterfinal play on Wednesday, November 5. Seeding for the tournament, along with sites and start times, will be announced by the conference later this weekend.

The entire match was played in a steady rain, and neither side got on the scoreboard in the first half. Mitchell's best chance came in the 21st minute when Graham Cavanaugh put a shot inside the far post following a corner kick, but Regis' Jai Pandit was there to keep the ball out of the net and cleared it away.

In the second half, the roles were reversed when Regis' Dillon Lanctot put a shot on net in the 60th minute that was cleared away by Mitchell defender Jose Roman III. 

The Pride finally broke through 15 minutes later when Gomez cashed in on a loose ball in the box following a corner kick. The goal, his seventh of the season, gave Regis the lead with less than 15 minutes remaining in regulation. Plasczynski then gave the Pride some breathing room just minutes later, taking a pass up the middle of the field from Devin Brady and scoring his seventh goal of the season.

Regis held an 18-11 advantage in shots and a 6-1 edge in corner kicks. Mitchell goalkeeper Ramazan Sinani finished with seven saves in the contest.

Prior to the match, the Mariners honored their 11 seniors in special ceremony. Among those honored included Sinani, Ryan Goodwin, Nicholas Donahue, Jordan Cook, Jordan Derosier, Adam Ensley, Chad Harshbarger, Jason Kirby, David Pegnataro, Taylor Surette and Frank Williams.