DUDLEY, Mass. – Junior Taylor Souza (New Bedford, Mass.) had a hat trick as the Nichols College women's soccer team defeated MCLA 3-1 in non-conference action Wednesday afternoon at the Nichols Soccer Field.
 
The hat trick was the first one for the Bison since Meghan Dunn did it in 2014 against Mount Ida.
 
Nichols outshot the MCLA 16-7 for the game including 9-3 in the second half. The Bison are 3-0-1 on the season when they outshoot their opponents.
 
Souza potted the first goal of the game at the 23-minute mark when she was granted a free kick in the box that she drove through a wall of Trailblazers for her sixth goal of the season. The Bison carried a 1-0 lead at the break.
 
The Trailblazers came out swinging in the second half – tying up the score just 2:30 into the half when senior Natalie Caney (Belchertown, Mass.) found classmate Marissa Sprague (Dalton, Mass.) on a cross that Sprague volleyed into the net.
 
In the 68th minute, Souza drove in the game-winning goal from 25 yards out as she ripped a shot into the upper left third and over the outstretched hands of freshman goaltender Megan Richardson (Adams, Mass.).
 
Souza was not done, however, when exactly 20 minutes later a cross from freshman Kaylin Goncalves (Norwood, Mass.) made it through the last line of defense for the Trailblazers and Souza was able to walk the ball into the goal.
 
Souza provided a game-high eight shots (seven on goal) while junior Danielle Barry (Springfield, Mass.) and senior captain Brooke Maher (North Attleboro, Mass.) each had three shots. Freshman Kaylyn Holliday (Catskill, N.Y.) led the Trailblazers with two shots.
 
Sophomore Brooke Downey (Middleboro, Mass.) earned the win after stopping a pair of shots and Richardson took the loss while making nine saves for MCLA.
 
Quotes
"Throughout the game it is really just an adrenaline rush. I just keep going and I get beautiful passes from my teammates. It is just everyone working together and setting me up for goals." – Souza on getting a hat trick
 
"We haven't been able to play on grass in a while so it is different. It is great to be back out on this field and being a senior it is nice to come out and get some wins. We are playing well and we are having fun. We play our best when we worked together and that is what happened today." – Maher on picking up the win back on the Nichols Soccer Field
 
"I am happy with the girl's performance today. Once again I think we got lazy a little bit and they capitalized on it and scored but we answered, so I am happy with our performance. I think the girls have a little more confidence and the wins kind of show you that – it shows that the things we are doing are correct. For now we just have to continue on with the momentum but we are going into matches with confidence which is a huge plus." – Nichols head coach Sonia Basma
 
"Taylor is a scorer and she loves to score. The hat trick was awesome and I am really proud of her." – Basma on Souza's hat trick
 
Next Games
Nichols (3-9-1) – Saturday, October 15 @ UNE, 3:30 p.m.
MCLA (2-7-3) – Saturday, October 15 vs Mass. Maritime, 1:00 p.m.