MILTON, Mass. – Nichols College sophomore men's soccer player Zach Turcotte (Lowell, Mass.) scored the game-winning goal in the ninth minute of play to help lead the Bison to a 1-0 victory over Curry College on Friday night in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) action at Walter M. Katz Field in Milton, Mass.
 
Junior goalie Patrick Porpora (Westminster, Mass.) backstopped Nichols to his third shutout of the season by making seven saves in the game, including a pair of stops in the final six minutes of play to seal the win.
 
Turcotte's goal came off a set piece as the Bison earned a corner kick in ninth minute. Junior Cole Houghton (Gorham, Maine) played the ball into the box towards the far post where sophomore Chris Noga (Belchertown, Mass.) received the pass. Noga's shot was blocked away but bounced right out to Turcotte, who fired a shot out of midair and into the back of the net for what proved to be the game-winning goal.
 
The Bison held a 16-13 edge in shots in the game, while Curry attempted four corner kicks to two for the visitors.
 
The Colonels were led by three shots apiece from senior Ben Silvia (Dartmouth, Mass.) and junior Christian Mancini (Woodbury, Conn.). Sophomore goalie Paul DeMaio (North Andover, Mass.) suffered the setback, registering 11 saves for the home team.
 
All-Time Series
Tonight's match marked the 34^th meeting between the two programs, and Nichols is 20-12-2 in the series, including four-straight wins against the Colonels.
 
Quotes
"Zach Turcotte came up big on a set piece for the goal. We still have pieces to figure out, but defensively we were able to lock down any scoring attempts to earn our first CCC win of the season." – Head coach Chris Traina
 
Next Match
Nichols (5-3-1, 1-1-0 CCC) – Friday, Sept. 29 vs. Eastern Nazarene, 7:00 p.m.
Curry (4-3-1, 1-1-0 CCC) – Sunday, Sept. 24 vs. Anna Maria, 1:00 p.m.