Men’s Soccer Posts 2-2 Tie With Falcons

WESTON, Mass. – Regis College enjoyed a significant shooting advantage, but the Pride was unable to get away from Albertus Magnus College, as the two teams ended up in a 2-2 tie Saturday afternoon in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference men's soccer match at Regis Stadium.

The Pride jumped on the board quickly, as Ken Niyonzima (Dracut, Mass.) scored his fourth goal of the season less than five minutes into the contest to give Regis a 1-0 lead. The Falcons struck back quickly with a penalty kick goal by Diogo Cruz in the ninth minute to tie the match at 1-1.

Cruz had a chance to put the Falcons on top with another penalty kick opportunity, but his shot was stopped by Regis goalie Jesse Bonilla (Ramona, Calif.), keeping the match in a tie. The Pride had a couple of scoring chances of their own late in the first half, but a shot by Branden Tan (Bodrum, Turkey) was turned away by Falcon keeper Joe Russo, and Derek Triana (Port St. Lucie, Fla.) saw his shot blocked right before halftime.

Albertus Magnus (2-3-3, 1-1-3 GNAC) put together a scoring threat as the match went from the 58^th minute to the 59^th minute with back-to-back corner kick plays. On the second one, Cruz found Abdoul Aremu, who converted on his shot to put the Falcons on top, 2-1.

Just over one minute later, Regis's offense found its way into the Falcon box and drew a foul to bring about a penalty kick chance for the Pride. Triana was successful in his penalty kick attempt, once again tying the match. Five minutes later, another shot by Triana hit the post, preventing the Pride from regaining the lead.

Regis continually pressured the Falcon defense late in regulation, but Russo made three saves in the final 18 minutes while two other shots were blocked in the final three minutes of the second half. The Pride took five shots in the extra 20 minutes while holding the Falcons to just one shot, but none of them went past the goal line into the net, forcing the match to end in a tie.

Russo finished with seven saves, while Bonilla was credited with four saves during the afternoon. Regis outshot Albertus Magnus, 25-9, led by Triana with seven shots as well as Tan and Brendan Plasczynski (Bristol, Conn.) with four shots apiece. Cruz was the only Falcon with more than one shot in the match, ending up with two total shots.

Regis (4-3-2, 2-3-2 GNAC) hosts Norwich in another key GNAC contest Wednesday, Oct. 3, starting at 4 p.m. at Regis Stadium. Albertus Magnus hosts Western Connecticut State Monday night, Oct. 1, before returning to league play with a home match against Suffolk Wednesday night, Oct. 3, at 7 p.m.