Fitchburg State Sneaks Past Nichols, 2-1 (2OT)

Zina nets two goals in Falcons non-conference victory

DUDLEY, Mass. (September 26, 2013) – Freshman back Samantha Zina (Abington, Mass.) collected a pair of markers, including the game-winning tally in the 108th minute of play as the Fitchburg State women's soccer team defeated Nichols College, 2-1 in double overtime in non-conference action at Nichols Soccer Field this afternoon.

Following a scoreless first stanza, Fitchburg State opened the scoring at the 67:30 mark as Zina was awarded a penalty shot after being taken down inside the box and buried the ensuing penalty kick into the back of the net for her first colligate tally for the 1-0 advantage.

Nichols quickly knotted the score (1-1) less than nine minutes later when freshman defender Jillian Krisch (Rockland, Mass.) took a feed from senior Gabriella Sarkis (Springfield, Mass.) and lofted a shot from 30 yards out into the upper right corner for her third score of the season to send the game into the extra session.

After a scoreless first overtime period, the Falcons capitalized on their lone scoring chance of the second extra frame at the 107:35 mark as junior midfielder Kayla Bridges (Foxboro, Mass.) found Zina with a cross into the middle of the box, who then fired a shot inside the near post for her second marker of the contest, resulting in the 2-1 double overtime victory.

Both teams had several scoring opportunities as the two team combined for 14 shots in the first half. Senior goaltender Jillian Kirouac (Leominster, Mass.) stopped two first half shots for the Falcons, while junior Sara Whitestone (Dalton, Mass.) registered four saves for Nichols College after one half of play.

Throughout the contest, Fitchburg State held a 19-14 advantage in shots, while also holding a narrow 4-3 margin in corners. Between the pipes, Kirouac made seven saves for the Falcons en-route to her third victory of the season, while Whitestone turned away seven shots in the complete game effort for Nichols.

Fitchburg State (3-5-0, 0-1-0 MASCAC) will be back in action on Saturday as it travel to Mass. Maritime Academy to take on the Buccaneers at 12 p.m. Nichols College (5-5-0, 0-2-0 TCCC) will visit Western New England College on Saturday at 1:30 p.m.