QUINCY, Mass. – The Nichols College women's soccer team defeated Eastern Nazarene 1-0 in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) action Friday evening at Veterans Memorial Stadium.
 
Junior Taylor Souza (New Bedford, Mass.) potted her conference-leading ninth goal in the 82nd minute to put the Bison in the lead and give them their first conference win of the season.
 
Sophomore Brooke Downey (Middleboro, Mass.) only had to make one save as she earns her fourth win of the season and third shutout.
 
This is the Bison's first win of the year in which they were outshot as the Lions outshot the Bison 11-10 for the game – including 9-6 in the second half. Souza and senior captain Brooke Maher (North Attleboro, Mass.) paced the Bison with three shots while junior Kelly Couite (West Bridgewater, Mass.) had a game-high four shots for the Lions.
 
Freshman Griselda Minchaca (Whittier, Calif.) made two saves and falls to 1-4-0 on the season.
 
All-Time Series
The Bison had dropped the previous five meetings to the Lions but now lead the all-time series at 13-5-1.
 
Quotes
"We came into the game wanting to prove to ourselves that our record doesn't reflect our quality of play. What better way to do it than to snatch a conference game. I'm very proud of this team." - Nichols senior captain Morgan Gidley (Dartmouth, Mass.)

"We really needed this win today. The team came out with energy and it translated on the field. By playing our game, we were able to get our first conference win which feels amazing. We have to keep this energy going forward in our next match and hopefully tournament." - Nichols freshman Nicole Gidley (Dartmouth, Mass.)

"Coming into the Nichols College women's soccer program has been one of the best decisions that I have made. As a player who is returning after a year off, I'm still trying to get that rust off but throughout every game I have improved slowly and I'm happy to be contributing every game. The goals for me will come. I'm very proud of my team because we are looking to complete this season on a high note." - Nichols junior Ashley Cibotti (Norton, Mass.) on transferring from Southern New Hampshire

Next Games
Nichols (4-11-1, 1-7-0 CCC) – Tuesday, October 25 vs Western New England, 3:00 p.m.
Eastern Nazarene (3-13-1, 0-8-0 CCC) – Tuesday, October 25 vs Curry, 9:00 p.m.