TAVARES LIFTS PRIDE TO FIRST PLAYOFF WIN

WESTON, Mass. – Senior Steve Tavares (Bellingham, Mass.) scored off a pass from Cody Puglisi (Centereach, N.Y.) in the 86th-minute to lead Regis College to a 1-0 victory over Daniel Webster College on Wednesday afternoon as a part of the New England Collegiate Conference Men's Soccer Quarterfinals.

The Pride (8-10) men's soccer program picks up its first postseason win in program history and advances to take on Lesley University on Friday afternoon at 3:30 p.m. Daniel Webster wraps up its season at 5-11-2

Regis came out firing first as Dillon Lanctot (Somersworth, N.H.) and Kenny Charron (West Warwick, R.I.) took the first three shots of the game, but Daniel Webster's Sean Hamilton (Brookline, N.H.) was up to the task, stopping all three attempts. Fabian Melo (Northborough, Mass.) took the first shot of the day for the Eagles, but it sailed wide of its mark, leaving the game at 0-0.

Chris Millington (Huntington, N.Y.) checked into the game in the 27th minute and immediately made his presence felt as Charron found the junior with a nifty pass up the middle, but Millington's blast was right at Hamilton, who handled the shot to preserve the shutout.

With just over eight minutes to go, DWC's Joey Morgan (Windham, N.H.) placed a corner kick into the box that found the head of Alex Towne (Northfield, Mass.) and the senior's header went high over the crossbar. The Eagles had one more shot with time winding down in the half as Elliot Kilgore (Milford, N.H.) laced a ball on net with one second remaining in the half that rattled off the post, leaving the teams tied at 0-0 headed into the break.

Regis held a 7-5 edge in shots in the opening frame and also held a 6-1 advantage in penalty corners. Both teams turned up the defense in the second half as there were only five shots in the period, all by the Pride.

In the 83rd minute, Daniel Webster attempted a throw into the box that was sent away out to midfield by the Regis defense. Cody Puglisi, who had checked in for the first time only three minutes earlier, controlled the ball and placed a through ball past the Daniel Webster defense to a streaking Tavares. The senior fought off one final defender as he dribbled from 25 yards out into the box and buried the ball past the diving Hamilton to give Regis a 1-0 lead. That score would be the difference in the game as neither team attempted a shot over the final three-plus minutes.

Regis took 12 shots compared to just five for the Eagles. The Pride also attempted 10 corner kicks to Daniel Wesbter's two. Stefan Todorovic (Los Angeles, Calif.) picked up his eight win of the season in net while facing no shots on goal. Sean Hamilton suffered the setback while making six saves.