DUDLEY, Mass. – The Plymouth State University women's soccer team was defeated by the Nichols College Bison, 4-2, on Nichols Soccer Field on Saturday afternoon.
After trailing by three goals in the first half, the Panthers went on a second half tear in a comeback attempt. Junior
Molly Bellmore (Hebron, Conn.) notched the first Plymouth State goal in the 58th minute on a feed from sophomore
Ella Fraser (Nottingham, N.H.) who tallied the assist.
Minutes later, sophomore
Emily Olsen (Freeport, Maine) scored her second collegiate goal in the 64th minute on a great pass by Bellmore, who recorded three points on the afternoon. The Panthers started to send numbers forward as the game drew late but could not complete the last push as the Bison nipped at the opportunity and scored the final goal of the contest with less than three minutes to play.
Freshman goalkeeper
Christa Giansiracusa (Tewksbury, Mass.) stood on her head, recording 12 saves to keep the game close for her teammates.
Plymouth State falls to 2-1-0, while the Bison improve to 1-1-2 on the season.
The Basics:
- Plymouth State 2, Nichols 4
- Plymouth State (2-1-0)
- Nichols (1-1-2)
How it Happened:
- Nichols started on the front foot, applying high pressure in the Panther defensive third, raining in the opening six shots of the contest in the first fifteen minutes of play.
- The pressure was deemed effective, as the Bison scored the first goal of the game in the 17th minute to take an early 1-0 lead.
- Nichols doubled the advantage (2-0) in the 29th minute on an outside shot that tucked into the top left corner of the net.
- The Panthers shifted the momentum, creating several chances to close the deficit, but still found themselves down a pair of goals.
- Nichols scored its third goal in the 43rd minute to close out the first half with a 3-0 lead.
- Plymouth State started the second half on a mission, reciprocating the first half pressure with a "nothing to lose" attitude which led to its first goal by Bellmore in the 58th minute to cut the game to 3-1.
- Soon after, Olsen buried her shot to the lower left-hand corner past the Bison goalkeeper to bring the Panthers back 3-2 in less than thirty minutes to play.
- The Panthers started to throw numbers forward in an attempt to complete the comeback, but a fourth goal in the 88th minute secured the win for the Bison.
By the Numbers:
- Nichols outshot the Panthers 30-10.
- Shots on goal were in Nichol's favor, 16-7.
- Each team recorded two corner kicks in the contest.
- Bellmore and Fraser have now recorded at least one point in each of the team's first three games. Bellmore achieved the same feat in her 2022 freshman campaign with then graduate student Cara Easter.
- Giansiracusa's 12 saves were the most by a Plymouth State goalkeeper in a game in two years.
- Plymouth State is now 3-3-0 in the head-to-head matchup against the Bison dating back to 2018.
Up Next:
- The Panthers return home to host UMaine Farmington on Saturday (Sept. 14) at 3:00 p.m.
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