Stout defense leads to scoreless draw

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - A tenacious Salve Regina defense on Wednesday earned the Seahawks a scoreless draw with host Western New England in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) men's soccer action at Suprenant Field. The Golden Bears extended their unbeaten streak to six games (4-0-2) and are now 11-3-3 on the season, including 5-1-2 in the conference standings. The defending CCC champion Seahawks are now 7-7-2 overall and 3-3-1 in the league.

Western New England is ranked fifth in New England in the first NCAA Division III regional poll released by the Championship Committee just before the 3 p.m. kickoff.

Salve Regina outshot WNE 23 to 5, including 9-1 in shots on goal, but senior co-captain Domenick Villano stopped all nine shots he faced to lower his goals-against average to 0.85. Starting defenders senior co-captain Kevin Parma, senior Jon Axton, junior Chris Bruton and sophomore Colin Macdonald played a pivotal role in the team's CCC-leading fourth shutout in conference games only and eighth overall.

The Seahawks had the only shots on goal in the overtime sessions, one in each 10-minute period, while outshooting WNE 5-2 over the final 20 minutes, But, Villano and the Golden Bears defense ensured a clean scoresheet.

Parma had the Golden Bears' lone shot on target, while Alex Mazzella, Chad Burke, Neil Williams and Chris Bruton also recorded shots.

Alex Wasilewski led SRU with eight shots, including six on target.

The Seahawks also enjoyed an 8-2 advantage on corner kicks.

Salve Regina returns home on Saturday for its senior day (Patrick Charland), hosting Wentworth Institute of Technology in a 3 p.m. start. Western New England steps out of conference play on Saturday when it hosts nationally ranked Amherst (No. 2 NSCAA coaches, No. 4 D3soccer.com polls) at 1 p.m. Saturday at Suprenant Field.