The Nichols varsity squad played its fourth road game in five days.  After the weekend in Albany for the Hall of Fame tournament, and after climbing back onto a bus to visit Rochester Aquinas on Tuesday, the team traveled, again, on Wednesday, to Rochester to face the always powerful Mercy team, at their Abby Wambach Stadium.

This was a heavy match-up, and despite concerns about player injuries and exhaustion, Nichols’ fans got to see the very best of what their team can bring to a match.  It was a skillful and physical contest, and goals wouldn’t come easy.  Nichols had more scoring opportunities in the box, but fine goaltending by the Mercy keeper and missed open chances by some Nicholsplayers kept the game knotted . . . until a perfectly placed corner by senior Charlotte Greene found a rushing fellow senior, Sierra Warren, who drove it home from a crowd of defenders. This was seventeen minutes into the match, and no one thought it would be enough to gain the “W.”

The Nichols defense of juniors Sophia Joes, Eden Alphonse, and Helena Crotty, and sophomore Ella Fishkin controlled the back, denying Mercy open runs into the box.  Rookie Mara Batchen, a recent call-up from the JV, played strong off the bench to give her teammates some needed breaks. Gabbie Hall did the same for the midfielders, playing intense important minutes in relief of outside midfielders Zaineb Ahmed and Sierra Warren, who tracked miles in offensive runs and defensive covers.  

Up top, Charlotte Greene ran another marathon of sprints, pressuring Mercy’s defense to force some off-line passes.  As always, senior Mirann Gacioch and sophomores Emerson Bacak and Linda Ullmark controlled the field of play with their ball control and passing.  Both Gacioch and Ullmark are threats every time they touch the ball, and each had a number of explosive attacks on the Mercy defense.  Occasionally frustrated by missed chances, they weren’t able to build the Nichols lead, but their play forced Mercy to defend, often double and triple teaming.  Such diminishes an offense.

In goal, Grace Laski stifled some of Mercy’s offense by aggressively attacking those runs that threatened to invade her space.  The defense kept such runs to a minimum, however, and most shots toward her were from well outside the box.  As minutes, and then seconds, clicked down, the Nichols coaches could be seen muttering prayers, perhaps.  Those, and their team’s play, won the day 1-0, making it four in a row.  The team now stands at 4-2-1.