CCC Men's Soccer: No. 2 Salve Regina hosts No. 7 Nichols

OCTOBER 28 | 1 p.m. TOPPA FIELD • NEWPORT, R.I.
NICHOLS BISON (10-6-1, 2-5-1 CCC)	SALVE REGINA SEAHAWKS (15-0-3, 6-0-2 CCC)
SERIES Seahawks lead, 20-8-2 LIVE STATS http://www.salveathletics.com/ LIVE VIDEO Click here DIRECTIONS Click here
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NEWPORT, R.I. - The Salve Regina University men's soccer team earns the No. 2 seed in the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Championships and hosts No. 7 Nichols College for the second meeting in three days. The Seahawks finished tied with the Gulls of Endicott College for the regular-season crown, and the two teams had a head-to-head scoreless draw on Sept. 22, but Endicott emerged through the league's tiebreak process with its better result against No. 3 seed Gordon College.

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LAST TIME OUT
The Salve Regina University men's soccer team wrapped up an unbeaten regular season with a 4-0 shutout of visiting Nichols College in the final Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) match of the year.

MORE READING: Seahawks complete unbeaten regular season with shutout of Bison

SEAHAWKS NOTES FROM THE NEST

• Seniors Richie Leister and Matthew O'Donnell are joined by junior Noah Medeiros as tri-captains for the 2018 Seahawks.
• Junior Donald Igo leads the CCC in points (38) and ranks second in goals (14) and assists (10). He is the only player to have double figures in both categories.
• Classmate Evan MacDonald leads all players in the league with his school-record 17 assists. MacDonald also has 27 points to rank third in the conference.
• Igo's 14 goals this year are third-best all-time in a men's soccer season at Salve Regina - Josh Keller (18 in 1992) and Sean McAllister (16 in 2010).
• Seahawks have scored a school-record 59 goals from 11 players in 18 games. Igo and sophomore Owen Stevenson (12) are the only ones to have double-figure goals.
• Senior Michael Payan has equalled a school record with nine shutouts this season; he now has 15 shutouts for his career.
• Payan leads the league in save percentage (.844) and goals against average (0.70).
• The top four CCC assists totals playing in today's game at Toppa - MacDonald (17), Igo (10), O'Donnell (6), and Nichols' Gregory Giglio (6).
• Salve Regina is one win away from its most ever in a season - 16 in 2012. The 16th victory in that year came against Nichols College in the title game.
• Previous Seahawk championships - 1998, 2002, 2012.

NICHOLS NEWS

• The Bison have won the men's soccer title twice - 2010, 2014. Nichols advanced past Salve Regina on PKs (3-1) after a scoreless semifinal in 2010.
• They have fallen in the title match three times - 2008, 2011, 2012.
• This is the fourth postseason meeting between Nichols and Salve Regina; Seahawks own a 2-0-1 mark in the previous three.
• Evan Lemoine (7g, 4a, 18p) and Chris Noga (6g, 5a, 17p) are the top two scorers for the Bison.
• Patrick Porpora ranks in the top five in the league in saves (2nd with 91), save percentage (3rd with .835), and goals against average (5th at 1.31).

INSIDE THE SERIES
Salve Regina University and Nichols College meet for the 31st time in men's soccer since 1989, and second time in three days. The Seahawks have a 20-8-2 advantage in the all-time series and have won five of the last eight meetings. Prior to last Wednesday, the Bison had won the previous two meetings in Newport (2014, 2016) by 2-1 scores; Salve Regina had last defeated Nichols in Newport in the CCC Championship Game six years ago (2-0 on Nov. 3, 2012).

WHAT'S NEXT?
Winner advances to the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) semifinal on Wednesday, October 31.