CCC SEMIFINALS: Western New England Advances To Finals Over Endicott On Penalty Kicks

BEVERLY, Mass. – The fourth-seeded Western New England men's soccer team advanced to the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Championship match over top-seeded Endicott College on penalty kicks, 5-3, on Wednesday night at Hempstead Stadium after both teams played to a thrilling 2-2 overtime tie over 110 minutes of non-stop action.

Nick Liccardi (Hopewell Junction, N.Y.) put home the game-winning penalty kick, while Kevin Strobel (Rockland, Mass.) stopped one out of four Endicott attempts to send the Golden Bears to the CCC finals for the first time since 2013. Western New England has not lost in the conference championship in five appearances in its storied program history (2013, 2011, 2009, 2008, 2007).

Both teams registered high quality scoring chances late in the contest – which included one goal on each side being waved off for offsides (EC – 57:16, WNEU – 91:38). Strobel also came up huge late in the second overtime session when he stopped a one-timer on the doorstep at his right post after a crisp pass across the goal mouth found an Endicott forward in the 104th minute. In total, Strobel finished the game with six saves.

Endicott received game-tying goals from Ryan Cohane (Easton, Conn.) and Evan Couchot (Mason, Ohio), while Troy Remillard (Palmer, Mass.) found the back of the net twice (15:53, 71:51) for the Golden Bears.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• After Western New England went up 1-0 in the 16th minute, Cohane swayed momentum back into Endicott's favor when he headed home his second tally of the season off a corner kick from Dario Neukom (Palma de Mallorca, Spain) into the upper-90.
• Couchot netted his 11th goal of the year in the 76th minute on a penalty kick attempt that he placed into the lower right corner of the net.
• The Gulls nearly grabbed a 2-1 advantage of their own in the 68th minute but a line drive shot from the left corner of the box was headed away at the goal line by Western New England's Kory Caster (Wilbraham, Mass.).
• Nick Weinstein (Trumbull, Conn.) stopped one shot in the loss.
• Endicott outshot Western New England, 17-14, and held a 6-3 differential in corner kicks.

FOR THE FOES

• Remillard scored his first goal on a failed clearance in the 16th minute before he one-timed his second tally home in the 72nd minute on a through ball from Corey Brown (Somers, Conn.) for his team-leading and conference-leading (tie) 15th goal of the year.
• The Golden Bears are 4-0-1 in their last five matches.
• Strobel has stopped five or more shots in a game nine times this season.

WHAT'S NEXT

Western New England (10-9-1) will take on either second-seeded Wentworth or third-seeded Gordon in the CCC Championship on Saturday, November 5 at the highest remaining seed (time to be determined later). Endicott's 2016 season comes to a close at 12-5-3 overall. The Gulls have now won 12 or more games three seasons in a row. 

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