NORTH BAY, Ont. — Zakaria Abdi's header in the 50th minute proved to be the difference, as the TMU Bold defeated the Nipissing Lakers 1-0 on Saturday afternoon.

After a scoreless opening half, Abdi capitalized on a beauty of a ball from Kai Martin, as he high pointed the whipping ball from Kai Martin and headed it past Lakers keeper Gabriel Pastore to open the scoring.

The Scarborough, Ont. product's fifth of the season proved to be the difference, helping the Bold move to 7-2-0 as they recorded their sixth-straight win.

Fifth-year goalkeeper Ali Ghazanfari recorded his second-straight clean sheet with the win, as he turned aside the lone shot he faced on the afternoon.

The win moved TMU four points clear in the chase for number-two seed in the OUA East Division, as the Carleton Ravens fell earlier in the day to the Ontario Tech Ridgebacks.

The Bold are in the thick of the race for second-place in the OUA East Division, with a first round postseason bye up for grabs. The win moved TMU four points clear of the third-place Carleton Ravens with just three games remaining. 

Up next for the Bold is a trip to Sudbury for a meeting with the Laurentian Voyageurs. The Bold will be searching for their seventh-straight win against the Voyageurs, with their last loss coming back on Aug. 26, 2017.