BRIDGEWATER, Mass. - Senior forward Katie Balboni (Townsend, MA) scored the game-winning goal,and senior netminder Nicole Downs (Hanover, MA) posted her fourth shutout of the season, as second seeded Bridgewater State College defeated third seeded Nichols in an ECAC Division III New England Field Hockey Tournament semifinal match on Saturday.

With the win, the Bears improve to 15-6 which is a new program record for wins in a season. The original mark of 14 wins was set by the 1979 team which finished with a record of 14-5-1. The Bison wrap up the 2007 season with a record of 16-7.

With the score knotted at 0-0 at the end of the first half, Balboni knocked home the go-ahead tally on a dish from Bethany Bush (Littleton, MA) with just over a minute gone in the second stanza. For Balboni, it was her ninth goal of the season and 17th of her career.

Nichols' best chance to score the tying goal came off of a penalty corner with a little more than 13 minutes into the second half. Freshman midfielder MaryKate Frodema (Springfield, MA) had a clear shot of an open net, but her attempt sailed wide of the left post.

The loss for the Bison marks the first time that they have been shutout this season while they have averaged an impressive 4.18 goals per game in their first 22 contests. Nichols held an 11-7 advantage in shots for the game as well as a 12-7 edge in penalty corners. The Bison actually had eight penalty corner opportunities in the final ten minutes of play.

Downs notched 8 saves in the game while her Nichols counterpart, MaryKate Bednarz (Springfield, MA), registered 6 stops on the afternoon.

Bridgewater State will host the championship game of the ECAC Tournament which will be held tomorrow afternoon at 1 PM. The Bears will take on fifth seeded Saint Joseph's College who knocked off Plymouth State, 1-0, this afternoon in their semifinal match-up.

Release written by Steven M. Miller, Jr --- Sports Information Correspondent