Falcons Draw Even With Bison, 2-2 (2OT)

Male and Krikorian collect goals for Falcons in non-conference draw  

Dudley, Mass. – Fitchburg State and Nichols College played to 2-2 double overtime stalemate this afternoon in non-conference men's soccer action at Vendetti Field.

The Basics

Score: Fitchburg State 2, Nichols 2

Records: Fitchburg State (4-3-2) | Nichols (6-3-2)

How It Happened

Following a goal from graduate student Ryan Banker (Ashaway, R.I.) in the tenth minute of play to put the Bison up 1-0, Fitchburg State quickly knotted the score (1-1) roughly two minutes later as senior Ibrahima Male (Pawtucket, R.I.) collected a through ball from classmate Jared Burns (E. Bridgewater, Mass.) and deposited the ball into the lower left corner for his second tally on the season.

The Green and Gold took the lead at the 12:51 mark when sophomore forward Matthew Krikorian (Groton, Mass.) converted a penalty kick for his team-leading fifth marker of the 2017 campaign for 2-1 advantage.

Nichols retied the contest midway through the first frame as sophomore Chris Noga (Belchertown, Mass.) was awarded a penalty kick of his own, promptly connecting on his first tally of the year to make the score 2-2 going into the break.

In the second half, Nichols College nearly broke the 0-0 deadlock late in the stanza as Noga and junior Gregory Giglio (Caldwell, N.J.) put back-to-back quality shots on frame, but Falcon keeper Alex Al-Zaibak (Hingham, Mass.) denied both chance to force overtime.

Inside the Numbers

18th meeting between Fitchburg State and Nichols on the pitch with the Falcons 10-4-4 all time when taking on the Bison.

Two schools had split the previous four meetings.

For the contest, Nichols finished with a 37-13 advantage in shot, while also holding a 20-3 edge in corner kicks.

In net, Al-Zaikbak posted ten saves for the Falcons in the complete game effort, while junior Patrick Porpora (Westminster, Mass.) made six saves for the Bison in 110 minutes of action.

Up Next

The Falcons will host the Vikings of Salem State University on Saturday for a contest starting at 12 p.m. Nichols will travel to Western New England University on the same day for a match up starting at 12 p.m.