DUDLEY, Mass. – Freshman Brooke Misbach (Guilford, Conn.) recorded eight saves in Nichols College's 2-0 loss to Clark (MA) University Tuesday night in non-conference field hockey action at Vendetti Field.
 
Junior Liz Grady (Worcester, Mass.) and sophomore Olivia Barksdale (Fort Washington, Md.) each scored second-half goals for the Cougars, who outshot the Bison 17-7 on the evening. Nichols freshman Erin Kelley (Dighton, Mass.) took three shots for Nichols while MacKenzie McDonald (Pembroke, Mass.) had a pair of shots off penalty corners.
 
Barksdale had the best scoring opportunity of the first half for either side. She made a run up the left side of the field, then cut in and got off a shot that Misbach kicked out with 13 minutes on the clock. McDonald had the only shot of the first half for the Bison with just over eight minutes remaining off a penalty corner. Less than two minutes later, freshman Mallory Thompson (Gardner, Mass.) blasted a shot that Misbach kicked out to keep the contest scoreless.
 
Barksdale broke the scoreless tie 40 seconds into the second with a great individual effort. She broke down the left side of the field and juked a couple of defenders before slamming a shot inside the left post. The Cougars nearly doubled their lead at 51:29 when Mackey and Grady broke in 2-on-1. Mackey slid the ball to Grady, who had a wide open net, but pushed it wide. Minutes later, Grady collected her own rebound and beat Misbach at 51:38 to double the Clark lead to 2-0. With two minutes remaining, Barksdale was denied on a 3-on-0 by Misbach, who made a kick save.
 
Sophomore Dani Michaud (Providence, R.I.) stopped four shots to move to 2-0 for the Cougars.
 
All-Time Series
Tonight's contest marked the 44^th all-time meeting between Clark (MA) University and Nichols College. The Cougars have won six of the last seven games between the two Worcester-area rivals and lead the all-time series, 33-9-2.
 
Quotes
"Overall, we played a much improved game than over the weekend. We still can't seem to find that forward who wants the ball on their stick to put it in the back of the net. I think we were the better team tonight except inside the offensive circle. We'll keep working at it." – Nichols head coach Kristan Mallet
 
Next Games
Nichols (1-2) – Thursday, September 8 @ Simmons, 7:00 p.m.
Clark (MA) (2-0) – Thursday, September 8 vs Lasell, 7:00 p.m.