MILTON, Mass. – The Curry College men's soccer team tied Commonwealth Coast Conference opponent Western New England University, 2-2, in double overtime on Wednesday evening at the Walter M. Katz Field. The Colonels moved to 6-5-3 overall and 2-2-2 in the CCC. The Golden Bears are now 10-3-2 on the season and 4-1-1 in the CCC.
Both teams came out strong in the first stanza, staying even with a 1-1 score showing on the board. Just 12:59 minutes into the half, Curry took the lead when junior Nick Gilman (Longmeadow, Mass.) made a through pass to fellow teammate Matt Cotnoir (Longmeadow, Mass.) who netted the ball. Both teams battled back and forth until the 10:05 minute mark when the Golden Bears got their first point of the night. The Colonels committed a foul outside of the 18-yard box which set up a Golden Bear free kick. Senior Jon Axton (Chicopee, Mass.) was awarded the kick that sailed over the head of Curry's senior netminder Nick Barber (Pittsfield, Mass.). The remainder of the half stayed scoreless.
Barber made three saves while WNE senior goaltender, Domenick Villano (Bronxville, N.Y.), made seven. The Colonels held a slight advantage in most stats. Curry finished with 10 shots, eight on goal, two fouls and one corner. The Golden Bears had seven shots, four on net, two fouls and three corners.
Western New England came out strong to start the second frame. The Golden Bears outshot the Colonels 10-5 with six landing on net. Solid play between the pipes by Barber kept the game tied at one apiece until the 9:43 minute mark. Curry took the lead when junior Samuel Babchuck (Bridgewater, Mass.) collected the ball off a free kick taken by Cotnoir. Babchuck one-timed it past Villano for his first tally of the night. The lead didn't last long when just 1:30 minutes later Western New England tied the match from a senior Ryan Williams (Brewster, N.Y.) unassisted goal. The squads remained tied for the remainder of regulation to force overtime.
After the 60 minutes of play, the Colonels finished with 16 shots, 13 on net, 11 saves, six fouls and three corners. The Golden Bears finished with 19 shots, 15 on net, eight fouls, seven corners and two offsides.
The clubs battled each other for 20 minutes of overtime but neither one could post the game-winner.
Barber finished with 14 stops in his 110:00 minutes of play. Villano made 11 saves in net in 110:00 minutes for Western New England.
Curry returns to action on Saturday, October 19 when they host CCC opponent Endicott College in an 11:00 a.m. match up. Western New England will travel to CCC opponent Eastern Nazarene on Saturday, October 19 in a 1:30 p.m. game start.
