DARTMOUTH, Mass. – Powered by a two-goal fourth quarter, Nichols College posted a 3-2 come-from-behind victory over the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth in non-conference field hockey action on Thursday evening. The Bison are now 6-13 on the season, while the Corsairs move to 2-16 overall.
After a scoreless opening quarter that saw several chances on both sides, the Corsairs opened the game's scoring in the second quarter of action. Off a team-leading fifth goal of the season, sophomore forward
Arlene Johnson converted a feed from classmate and midfielder
Ava Lozeau at 14:41.
The lead proved short-lived as Nichols tied it up 43 seconds later with forward Emma Bianculli firing in a shot that was kick-saved by Corsairs goalie
Shane Cueman, but the rebound caromed out to senior forward Kaelyn Casper, who banked it in for the equalizer at 13:58.
Both squads had a number of opportunities throughout the frame, but the Corsairs took advantage as Nichols' was called for a foul at 27:46, resulting in a penalty shot for UMass Dartmouth. Junior defender
Sophia Bouffard stepped up and fired in a shot past Bison keeper Jessa Altemose for the 2-1 advantage.
Third quarter action was another scoreless one with the shots favoring the home standing Corsairs as Lozeau and junior forward
Brooke Lydon both fired in on Altemose. Despite the momentum and a late shot for the Bison, the team's headed into the final frame with a 2-1 lead for the Corsairs.
In the fourth quarter, UMass Dartmouth looked to pad its lead, but it was the Bison that came on the attack. The visitors peppered four shots on Cueman over the course of the quarter until a penalty corner at 54:38 that saw rookie forward Gabby Couillard bury a pass from sophomore defender Brooke Morin to tie the match at 2-all.
Minutes later, the Bison once again capitalized on the corner as Couillard sent a pass over to rookie forward Lily Gibson, sending it past the reach of Cueman for the 3-2 advantage at 56:21.
UMass Dartmouth tried to net the equalizer, but the visitors continued to hold possession, keeping it in the Corsairs end for a majority of final minutes of the contest.
For the contest, Nichols saw Altemose record eight saves for the victory, while Cueman made 11 stops for the Corsairs. The Corsairs saw Lydon finish with six shots, including four on goal for the home team as Johnson and Bouffard tallied the goals.
The Corsairs return to action on Saturday, traveling to Eastern Connecticut State for the regular season finale at 12pm.
