DUDLEY, Mass. – Sophomore Brooke Downey (Middleboro, Mass.) stopped nine shots, however, the Nichols College women's soccer team fell to Albertus Magnus, 2-1, in non-conference action Saturday afternoon at the Nichols Soccer Field.
 
The Bison suffered their second-consecutive 2-1 loss to open the 2016 season. Junior Taylor Souza (New Bedford, Mass.) – who scored the lone goal in the season opener for Nichols – potted the Bison's lone goal in the 62nd minute on an assist from junior Ashley Cibotti (Norton, Mass.) to tie things up at a goal apiece.
 
The Falcons outshot the Bison 14-3 in the first half and carried a 1-0 lead into the half after a goal by freshman Erin Daly (Seymour, Conn.) found the back of the net passed a diving Downey at 36:30.
 
Souza evened things up at 61:59 after a pass from Cibotti went through the defense and Souza found the bottom left side of the net.
 
Nichols came out strong in the second half, outshooting the Falcons 7-3 through the last 45 minutes but Albertus Magnus senior Liz Nagy (Meriden, Conn.) was able to put the Falcons back in the lead at 71:11 on a shot from just outside the 18. Sophomore Kerrigan Loughman (Trumbull, Conn.) was credited with the assist on the play.
 
Downey falls to 0-2 on the year while sophomore Lexie Fenn (Oakville, Conn.) moves to 1-1 on the season after making one save.
 
All-Time Series
After falling a year ago to the Falcons, the Bison now trail the all-time series at 1-2-0 with Nichols' only win coming in 2011.
 
Quotes
"Ashley and I have been working together up top a lot, coach even wanted to tie a rope around us so that we would stick together, but we have been working on our touches and working as a team to go up and it worked for us." – Souza on her equalizer goal for the Bison
 
"We are the underdog every game because nobody really expects much from us but obviously we are a much better team than people give us credit for. Everyone is really excited for the season, so we just need to continue to work on the little tactical stuff and we'll get there." – Souza the positives of the team right now
 
"We started a little slow but picked it up and got a good goal in the second half. We had a lot of opportunities and put one away but missed out on all the extra ones that ended up killing us. But a 2-1 loss to a fantastic Albertus Magnus side is moving in the right direction as a program." – Nichols head coach Sonia Basma
 
Next Games
Nichols (0-2) – Tuesday, September 6 vs Coast Guard, 4:00 p.m.
Albertus Magnus (1-1) – Wednesday, September 7 vs Elms, 4:00 p.m.