Allegheny College Athletics

Allison Pyewell Nichols enjoyed a stellar four-year career for the Allegheny women’s soccer team, both on the field and in the classroom.  A native of Butler, Pa., she was a four-year letterwinner and two-year captain of the Gators, as the team enjoyed a sustained run of success.

As a freshman in 1995, Nichols stepped into the lineup right away as a full-time starter, and earned Honorable Mention All-North Coast Athletic accolades after ranking second in the conference with nine goals, while adding four assists en-route to being named the team’s offensive most valuable player.

She continued to thrive as a sophomore, earning her first of three consecutive All-NCAC and All-Great Lakes Region honors.  She finished with 12 points, on five goals and two assists, while helping the Gators to a 16-3-1 overall record, and 4-1 mark in conference play.  In her junior season of 1997, Nichols topped the Gators with 23 points, on 10 goals and three assists, as the squad set a school record with 18 wins, and finished as conference runners-up with a 6-2 mark against NCAC opposition.

Nichols wrapped up her career with her third straight First Team All-NCAC and All-Region performance in 1998, leading the Gators with 16 points (7 goals, 2 assists) and being named the team’s most valuable player.  In addition to her accolades earned on the playing field, she was also recognized as Allegheny’s NCAC Scholar-Athlete Award recipient, as well as the Allegheny Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

After graduating with honors with a degree in psychology and minor in biology, Nichols went on to earn a Masters in Physician Assistant Studies from Chatham University.  She and her husband Josh, a fellow 1999 Allegheny alum, currently reside in Gibsonia, Pa., with sons Seth (9) and Travis (2), and daughter Sydney (7).  Nichols is employed by UPMC at Shadyside Hospital as a physician’s assistant in hematology and oncology.  Her three children are all involved in youth soccer, and she coaches her daughter Sydney’s team in the youth league in the Pine-Richland School District.