AMCATS Open 2017 With Double OT Tie

THE BASICS:

- Score: Anna Maria College 2, Nichols College 2

- Records: Anna Maria (0-0-1); Nichols (0-0-1)

- Location: Paxton, Mass. (AMCAT Field)

- The Lead: The Anna Maria College men's soccer team opened the 2017 season with a double overtime non-conference battle with the Bison of Nichols College. The game ultimately ended in a 2-2 tie with both teams still hungry for goals as they left AMCAT field.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

-The AMCATS opened up scoring with a goal from Gift Kalombo (Worcester, Mass.) in the 24^th minute of play. The Bison put up a fight and tallied a goal just 20 seconds later as Ryan Banker (Ashaway, R.I.) notched his first goal of the season and tied the score up at 1-1.

-The two teams battled it out in the midfield for the remainder of the first half. It wasn't until 26 minutes into the second half that Nichols was able to break the tie as Justin Perry (Scarborough, Maine) put the ball in the net after receiving a cross pass from William Aldrich (Beclhertown, Mass.) (2-1).

-The AMCATS quickly found some fire and headed down the field with a strong offensive push. A foul in the box with 14 minutes on the clock would put Derrick Casey (Worcester, Mass.) up to the line for a penalty kick. Casey went top left shelf over Bison goaltender, Juan Carlos De La Cruz (Stamford, Conn.), to even things up at 2-2.

-The two teams battled it out for another 34 minutes over two over time periods and concluded the game tied at 2-2.

BEHIND THE NUMBERS:

- Freshman Jeffrey Donahue (Rockland, Mass.) started in goal for the AMCATS. Playing every minute, he notched 10 saves in his collegiate debut while Nichols posted 12 shots on goal.

- The Bison outshot Anna Maria 28-10 and held an 11-1 advantage on corner kicks.

-Sophomore goaltender for the Bison, De La Cruz, posted seven saves in all 110 minutes of play.

-The Bison were administered two yellow cards on the day.

QUOTE FROM COACH CHENEY: "We had a great effort from the entire team today. Starting seven freshmen is always a challenging task, but we stepped up to it - the guys were ready to go and we played well. We did everything we went over in training and we were definitely prepared and it definitely showed on the field".