No. 5 Men’s Soccer Outlasts No. 4 Newbury College, 2-1 in NECC Quarterfinals

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – Elms College freshman midfielder Dustin Gregoire (Belchertown, Mass.) scored what proved to be the game-winner as the fifth-seed Blazers earned a thrilling 2-1 decision over No. 4 Newbury College in Wednesday afternoon's New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) Championship tournament quarterfinal men's soccer game on the campus of Pine Manor College in Chestnut Hill, Mass.

With the win, Elms improves to 7-10 overall and will travel to top-seed Southern Vermont College on Friday, Nov. 4 for a 2:00 p.m. contest. Newbury concludes its season 6-11-1 overall. Wednesday's victory marks the first NECC postseason victory for the Blazers since the league's inception in 2008.

After playing to a scoreless tie through the first 34 minutes of play, Elms' junior forward Tavish Leland (Bridgton, Maine) received a pass from freshman forward Joseph Coleman (Easthampton, Mass.) and played the ball into the back of the net to give the Blazers a 1-0 lead with 10 minutes remaining in the opening stanza.

Five minutes later, Coleman's pass found Gregoire who capitalized with his second goal of the season to extend the Blazers' advantage to 2-0 at intermission.

Despite being outshot 11-4 in the opening period and 17-4 in the second frame, Elms held its two-goal lead until late in the second half when Newbury's Agostinho Lam (Braintree, Mass.) scored on an assist from Rodriguez Pierre (Somerville, Mass.) at the 88:01 mark to cut the Nighthawks' deficit in half at 2-1.

Newbury's Hector Abudoj (Tegucigalpa, Hondoras) fired a shot with 43 ticks remaining but the offering sailed high as Elms sealed the win.

Blazers' senior goalkeeper Ryan Sullivan (Agawam, Mass.) made five saves in each half and allowed just the one score to help secure Elms' berth in the tournament semifinals.

Senior midfielder Adam Schnopp (Pittsfield, Mass.) provided Elms' only other shot on goal as Nighthawks net-minder Jeremy Bergeron (Fitchburg, Mass.) finished with one save in the losing effort.

Pierre and Victor Rua Jr. (Pawtucket, R.I.) added three shots on goal apiece for Newbury.