Box Score

LEWISTON, Maine -- The University of New England and Bates College played 110 minutes of scoreless action on Wednesday night (Sep. 3), as the non-conference men's soccer contest finished in a 0-0 tie under the lights at Garcelon Field.

Senior goalkeeper Aidan McParland made eight saves for the shutout between the pipes for the Nor'easters (1-0-1). The clean sheet for the Bobcats (0-0-1) went to Sean Polito, who turned away four shots. 

The result was UNE's first against Bates in the 17 meetings on-record between the teams, ending a string of losses dating back to 1988. The two had not squared off since the 2006 season.

As play opened up in the 2nd half, both sides began to have more and more quality chances to get on the board. Peabo North nearly put the hosts ahead in the 58th minute, but his bending ball from deep on the left side passed just outside of the right post. In the 78th minute, Big Blue senior Sean Goodrich found space on the right side charging into the box and sent a drive towards the upper left corner, however Polito got a hand on it to push it wide. In the 83rd minute, Justin Pertierra of Bates targeted the upper right corner against McParland, but was denied.

The most threatening try of extra time came from the Bobcats in the 105th minute as Aaron Nickelsberg launched a shot at the lower right corner, forcing McParland into a fully-extended dive in order to keep things level.

For the game, Bates logged a 28-13 advantage in shots. The margin was 7-4 during the 1st half, though none of the shots for either squad to that point were on frame.

UNE hosts Thomas College in a non-conference game on Saturday at 3:30 p.m., while the Bobcats begin NESCAC action the same afternoon (2:30 p.m.) with a visit to Tufts University.