Men's Soccer Falls Victim To Late Rally In Loss At Mitchell

NEW LONDON, Conn. – Mitchell College overcame a two-goal deficit in the final 11 minutes of regulation and pulled out a 4-3 overtime victory over Regis College on Saturday afternoon in New England Collegiate Conference men's soccer action at Alumni Field.

Christian Urena (Griswold, Conn./Griswold) netted the golden goal just 1:13 into the extra period as the Mariners improved to 4-1-1 in NECC play. The goal—the first of his collegiate career—gave Mitchell (4-8-2 overall) its fourth straight win in league play.

Regis got off to a quick start as Litchie Barbosa (Boston, Mass./Madison Park) scored just 1:50 into the contest on a shot that ricocheted off the post and in. Mitchell answered in the 10th minute off a restart that was buried by Christian Tomaj (Stamford, Conn./Stamford) from outside the 18.

In the second half, the Pride built a two-goal cushion thanks to scores from Don Gomez (Lynn, Mass./Lynn Classical) and Derek Triana (Port St. Lucie, Fla./Port St. Lucie). Gomez used a one-touch finish off a feed from Dillon Lanctot (Somersworth, N.H./Somersworth) to put Regis in front in the 49th minute. The Pride made it 3-1 in the 65th minute after Mitchell goalkeeper Seth Strader (Preston, Conn./Norwich Free Academy) collided with a Regis player and couldn't control a cross in the box, allowing Triana to clean up the loose ball for his team-leading eighth goal.

The Mariners cut into the deficit in the 80th minute as Andrew Nigro (East Granby, Conn./East Granby) slotted a ball up the middle of the field for Tomaj. A Regis defender slipped on the play, allowing Tomaj a one-on-one chance against keeper Manny Santiago (Bristol, Conn./Bristol Eastern), and he deposited his team-leading sixth goal to trim the margin to one.

Mitchell tied the game with 1:16 remaining in regulation on a goal by Robert Pullan (Hoover, Ala./Hoover). A Regis foul allowed the Mariners to serve a ball into the box, and this time it was Santiago who was jostled in the mix of players. He couldn't get ahold of the ball, and Pullan was on the spot for the quick finish to knot the game at 3-3.

In the overtime, a bad bounce off a Regis defender gave Urena a chance at the winner. He took a touch out to his right to get a clear shot at the goal before placing it into the corner for the winner.

Strader finished with three saves against 18 shots while Santiago recorded one stop against nine shots.

Mitchell will next play at Lesley University on Wednesday, October 26 at 8 p.m. Regis (9-6-1 overall, 4-1-1 NECC) returns to action at Wheelock College on Wednesday at 7 p.m.