Men's Soccer | 11/7/2015 4:31:00 PM

Box Score BEVERLY, Mass.—Tyler Modzeleski (Cazenovia, N.Y.) scored three minutes into the Commonwealth Coast Conference title game and added another later in the first half, as Gordon wins its first CCC championship since 2003 and earns an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, which begins next week. Gordon's defense held on in the second half for the 2-0 victory.
 
Three years of building a foundation paid off for the Gordon Men's Soccer program, as the Fighting Scots led to cover-to-cover to take home the CCC hardware over top-seeded Endicott. Saturday marked only the second time Endicott allowed more than one goal in a half this season, as the Gulls had held opponents to only nine scores in 2015.
 
The Scots found themselves in a similar position to begin the day as they were in a year ago, on the road in a conference championship game against the No. 1 seed. Gordon was not quick to forget the pain of what transpired at Nichols last November, using it as ammo entering the 2015 fall season. An up-and-down campaign led the Scots to a third seed and ultimately to this moment on Saturday at Hempstead Stadium.  
 
Gordon seemed like a team of destiny after coming within 25 seconds of having its season ended by upset-minded Roger Williams in the CCC quarterfinals. A blistering 3-0 shutout of Western New England—a team that handed the Scots a regular season loss in September—in the semifinals only confirmed that fact.
 
A week ago in the regular season finale, Endicott handed the Fighting Scots a 1-0 loss on the very same field, using a late score from Diego Maillo (Plantation, Fla.) to clinch the first seed in the CCC tournament.
 
That result did not keep the Fighting Scots from running its game plan from the opening whistle, immediately pressuring the Gulls on the offensive side of the ball. Just three minutes into the contest, Danny Nkhalamba (Concord, N.H.) sent a perfect low cross from the right corner. The freshman's pass found classmate Modzeleski, who controlled it with out touch and pushed a ball past a diving Nick Weinstein (Trumbull, Conn.) for the first strike of the game.
 
After a few Endicott attempts that came dangerously close to causing trouble for the Scots, Gordon picked up another great opportunity on a quick counter. Caleb Cole (Coatesville, Pa.) collected a cleared ball and instantly pushed the rock upfield. The speedy midfielder split two defenders and led Modzeleski up the seam. Gordon's freshman attacker tapped the ball back toward the center field and launched a shot on frame. An Endicott defender slightly deflected the ball off Modzeleski's foot, sending it just over the head of Weinstein, who had come up to make a save.
 
Despite outpacing the Scots in shots for the game, Endicott's looks were mostly from outside the 18-yard box. After claiming the early lead, Gordon did not allow Endicott's strong forwards to penetrate the gaps and forced them into desperate looks from a comfortable distance.
 
The Fighting Scots dug deep to keep Endicott's last-second efforts out of the net and claimed their first conference championship in their last four tries.
 
Weinstein made six saves in the losing effort for the Gulls, while Josh Spoonhour (Greencastle, Pa.) stopped all four shots on frame against him. Spoonhour's biggest play of the day came on a rip by Maillo that would have squeaked inside the near post if not for Spoonhour's diving punch away. 
 
Gordon (15-4) will await the NCAA Selection Show on Monday to find out its next opponent.