Nichols Upends Fitchburg State, 4-1

Smith registers two saves for Falcons in non-conference setback

FITCHBURG, Mass. – Senior forward Mike Kelley scored a pair of goals for Nichols College to lead the charge as the Bison defeated Fitchburg State University, 4-1 in non-conference men's soccer action at Elliot Field on Wednesday Night.

It took just thirteen minutes for the Bison to break the deadlock as Kelley scored his first marker of the season when he headed a cross from teammate Cole Houghton into the net for the game's opening goal for the 1-0 lead.

After going quiet for most of the first half, Nichols College doubled its lead (2-0) with just seven minutes to go in the first half when senior forward Ryan Banker took a through ball from Gregory Giglio inside the box, tucking the ball into the top-left corner for his third goal of the season.  

Following intermission, the Bison upped its lead three minutes into the stanza as Kelly converted a break-away attempt, firing a shot inside the far post after intercepting a pass at the 30-yard line for his second tally of the contest to make the score 3-0.

Fitchburg State responded at the 86:05 mark when freshman Matthew Krikorian found the back of the net for his second goal on the season before the Bison widened the gap as freshman midfielder Corey McEvoy collected a rebound in front of the net off his own shot and fired it into the right side of the net for his first collegiate score, resulting in the 4-1 final.

For Fitchburg State, Krikorian finished the game with the team-high three shots, while three other Falcons notched a pair of attempts. Freshman midfielder Jonathan Ingram paced the Bison, collecting a game-best four shots, while Banker and Kelley finished with three and two shots respectively.

Throughout the game, Nichols College held a 20-15 advantage in shots, while each team finished with four corner kicks. In net, sophomore Connor Smith finished with two saves for the Falcons in 90 minutes of work, while sophomore Patrick Porpora was stellar for the Bison, stopping five shots in the complete game effort for the visitors.

Fitchburg State (2-7-1, 0-3-0 MASCAC) returns to action on October 7th as it travels to Mass. Maritime Academy for a MASCAC clash with the Buccaneers at 7 p.m. Nichols College (6-4-1, 2-1-0 CCC) will visit CCC rival Wentworth on October 8th for a contest starting at 3:00 p.m.

Release courtesy of Fitchburg State student journalist Kyle Prudhomme

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