WORCESTER, Mass. – The Nichols College women's soccer team battled back before falling in overtime to Clark (MA), 2-1, in non-conference action Thursday afternoon at the Granger Soccer Turf.
 
The Bison found themselves quickly trailing as the Cougars were able to put one into the back of the net at 2:12 of the first half. Senior Haley Connors (Burrillville, R.I.) scored the goal for Clark (MA) with the assist coming from sophomore Rylee Simons (Weston, Fla.).
 
Nichols failed to produce a shot in the first half and went into the break trailing 1-0. At 66:03, junior Taylor Souza (New Bedford, Mass.) evened the score at a goal apiece as she was able to beat freshman Julianna Christy (Plainville, Conn.) for the Bison's first goal of the year. Senior Christina Barrows (Carver, Mass.) received credit for the assist on the goal.
 
The Bison were outshot through regulation 18-3 and 4-0 in the overtime period.
 
In overtime, junior Simone McGuinness (Chevy Chase, Md.) gave the Cougars the win with her penalty kick goal at 94:45.
 
Sophomore Brooke Downey (Middleboro, Mass.) made six saves in the loss for the Bison while Christy stopped one shot in the win.
 
All-Time Series
This was the first meeting all-time between the Bison and Cougars with Clark (MA) now leading the series at 1-0.
 
Quotes
"We played a hard and intense 90-plus minutes tonight. We left everything we had on the field and our season is only going up from here. I couldn't be more excited to have one last ride with this team." – Nichols senior Jillian Krish (Rockland, Mass.)
 
"My first goal as a Bison was exciting. I'm ready for this season and ready to make an impact on this program. Coach has prepped us this preseason both tactically and physically which showed this first game." – Souza on scoring her first goal as a Bison
 
"The team was collectively great today. We showed a lot of unity, heart and discipline coming back from a 1-0 deficit in the second half to tie it 1-1. Unfortunately for us, one bad call sent us home tonight in overtime. Losing on a PK is the worst but certainly won't slow our momentum down. I'm proud of this group, we are taking huge steps in the right direction." – Nichols head coach Sonia Basma
 
Next Games
Nichols (0-1) – Saturday, September 3 vs Albertus Magnus, 11:00 a.m.
Clark (MA) (1-0) – Saturday, September 3 @ Framingham St., 11:00 a.m.