SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (November 3, 2015) - The second-seeded Western New England University men's soccer team had its run in the 2015 Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Championship ended this afternoon with a 3-0 semifinal loss to third-seeded Gordon College at Suprenant Field.
 
Western New England (11-8, 8-1 CCC) now awaits word on a potential bid to the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) New England Championship. Gordon (14-4, 7-2 CCC) advances to Saturday's CCC Championship title game, where the Fighting Scots will take on the winner of tonight's Endicott/Wentworth matchup.
 
Western New England, which entered this afternoon's semifinal contest having scored 29 goals over its last ten matches (2.9 goals/game), was shut out for the first time since September 23^rd and just the fifth time overall this season. The Golden Bears did have several scoring opportunities, putting six shots on target and another off the crossbar, but Gordon junior goalkeeper Josh Spoonhour (Greencastle, Pa.) and senior Bruce Gerberich (Fredericksburg, Pa.) combined to post a clean sheet.
 
The Scots opened the scoring in the 25^th minute, when freshman Danny Nkhalamba (Concord, N.H.) sent a cross into the box from the right flank, and senior Evan Crocker (Akron, Ohio) headed the service past Western New England junior goalkeeper Kevin Strobel (Rockland, Mass.) into the left side of the net.  Strobel faced seven shots this afternoon, stopping four of them.
 
Gordon then doubled its advantage 13:03 into the second half, as freshman Tyler Modzeleski (Cazenovia, N.Y.) tucked a shot out of the reach of a diving Strobel and inside the left post.
 
The Golden Bears nearly broke through in the 63^rd minute on a header by junior back Brandon Bolger (Saratoga, N.Y.), before narrowly missing another opportunity at the 68:05 mark when freshman midfielder Nick Liccardi's (Hopewell Junction, N.Y.) shot struck the crossbar.
 
It would be the visiting Scots, however, that scored the game's final goal, as freshman Ian Burkhart (Lancaster, Pa.) pounced on a rebound in the 78^th minute and beat Strobel to give Gordon a 3-0 lead.
 
Bolger and sophomore forward Troy Remillard (Palmer, Mass.) tested Spoonhour with headers in the 82^nd and 84^th minutes, respectively, but the junior saved both attempts to keep Western New England's deficit at three. Remillard and Bolger led the Golden Bear attack this afternoon, combining for seven shots, five of which were on target.