HENNIKER, N.H. – Freshman Ali Ali (West Springfield, Mass.) scored the only goal of the game in the 64th minute as the Nichols College men's soccer team defeated New England College 1-0 in non-conference action Saturday afternoon at Don Melander Field.
Ali's first goal of his collegiate-career proved to be a big one as he needed only one touch after a long pass from junior captain Cole Houghton (Gorham, Maine) to give the Bison their second win of the season.
The Bison outshot the Pilgrims 18-12 for the game – including 10-5 in shots on goal. Ali along with senior Paul Sickinger (Tyngsboro, Mass.) and junior Gregory Giglio (Deer Park, N.Y.) paced the Bison with three shots. Junior Cooper Valinski (Portsmouth, N.H.) provided a game-high four shots for the Pilgrims.
Junior Patrick Porpora (Westminster, Mass.) notched his second-consecutive shutout after stopping five shots while freshman Robbie Ferguson (Hopkinton, N.H.) took the loss after making a pair of saves in the final 33:17 of the game. Senior Tenzin Khenrab (Greenfield, Mass.) started the game for the Pilgrims and made seven saves through 56:43 minutes of play.
All-Time Series
The Bison broke a two-game losing streak to the Pilgrims with the win and improve to 18-11-4 in the all-time series.
Next Games
Nichols (2-2-1) – Wednesday, September 13 at Mass. Maritime, 7:00 p.m.
New England Col. (1-1-1) – Wednesday, September 13 vs Wheaton (MA), 7:00 p.m.