Box Score

DUDLEY, Mass. - Senior Pat Gaumond (Holden, Mass.) scored a pair of goals to lift the Nichols College men's soccer team to a 4-2 win over Salem State University Wednesday afternoon in non-conference action at the Nichols Soccer Field.

Sophomore Donny Whittle (Ellington, Conn.) added a goal and an assist for the Bison, who improved to 7-1-3 with the win. Junior Costa Hatziiannou (Danvers, Mass.) and freshman Kevin Gallo (Melrose, Mass.) each scored for the Vikings (1-9-0), who were outshot 29-6.

Gaumond opened the scoring just 5:25 into the match when he collected his own shot off the crossbar and beat sophomore goalkeeper Nondas Kargakis (Suffield, Conn.) for his first of the season. Fifteen minutes later, Whittle buried a free kick into the top right corner to double Nichols lead.

Gaumond's second of the day and the season came at 22:57 off a pass from sophomore Tiago Prazeres (West Hartford, Conn.). He collected a rebound off Prazeres' shot and poked it into the lower right corner. The Vikings got on the board at 39:12 as Hatziiannou scored from in close with junior Max Mondestin (Salem, Mass.) picking up the assist.

Gallo's first of the season early in the second half got the visitors to within a goal. Sophomore Mitch Tepe (Sterling, Mass.) lobbed the ball from midfield into the box, and Gallo deposited the ball over junior goalkeeper Jeremy Nash (West Springfield, Mass.). Nichols iced the game on senior Fred Willard's (Webster, Mass.) first of the season at 86:58. Whittle send a pass to Willard, and his shot found the lower right side of the net.

"We came out very strong and played our system very well early," said Nichols head coach Chris Traina. "We attacked very well and had some great finishes. As a result, we were able to play many of our non-starters, but some of them entered the match with the mentality that the match was over, which is the worst mindset you can have. There was a dip in our tactical play as well as defensively, and that was a good lesson for us. In the second half, we went back to a lineup made up primarily of our starters, and within five minutes, we were back in our rhythm."

Nash finished the afternoon with one save to improve to 7-1-3 while Kargakis stopped eight shots.

The Bison return to action on Saturday with a 3:00 p.m. Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) match at Roger Williams.