Golden Bears Pull Away in Second Half for 14-9 Victory over Husson

Breen & Miller record six points (five goals, one assist) each

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (April 12, 2018) – The Western New England University women's lacrosse team pulled away in the second half to earn a 14-9 victory over Husson University on Thursday afternoon in non-conference action at Golden Bear Stadium. 

Top Performers
• Junior Kristen Breen (Ellington, Conn.) and freshman Reilly Miller (Goshen, N.Y.) fueled the Western New England offense with six points each on five goals and one assist. Miller also picked up a game-high nine ground balls and caused four turnovers.
• Sophomore Kaitlyn Hutter (Stamford, Conn.) produced three points with a goal and two assists, while classmate Ariella Ruggiero (Valhalla, N.Y.) chipped in with three assists.

• Husson freshman Maddy Olsen (Phippsburg, Maine) led the Eagles with five points (four goals, one assist), five draw controls, and three ground balls.
• Senior Amanda Deshaies (Wells, Maine) also secured five draws to go with two goals, an assist and three caused turnovers.

Game Review
Deshaies opened the scoring for the Eagles with a free position goal a minute and a half into the contest.

Breen tallied consecutive goals at 24:10 and 23:21 to give the Golden Bears their first lead (2-1), but Husson tied the contest at the 20:18 mark when sophomore Cali Newton (Rochester, N.H.) scored on a feed from junior Serian Williams (Ulm, Germany).

Breen completed her hat trick with 18:42 remaining in the first half, sparking a 4-0 Western New England run that saw the Golden Bears open up a 6-2 lead midway through the period.

Olsen recorded three goals over the final 14:33 of the half, however, and Deshaies added another tally as the Eagles closed the gap to two (8-6) at the break.

Western New England took control of the contest in the second half. The Golden Bears opened the period with four straight goals, including two from Miller, to open up a 12-6 advantage with 14:58 to play.

Freshman Paige Daigle (Bath, Maine) snapped Husson's scoreless drought 12 seconds later, but the Golden Bears answered with a pair of goals by Hutter and sophomore Olivia Truenow (Franklin, Mass.) to make it 14-7. The Eagles cut the final margin to five with late goals from Olsen and Newton.

Notes
• Western New England has won three of its last four games.
• Breen continued her scoring surge with six points on Thursday. She has now recorded 25 points over the last four contests.
• The Golden Bears outshot the Eagles 52-20 and held a 42-28 advantage in ground balls.

Up Next
Western New England (4-9) resumes CCC play on Saturday at Roger Williams, while Husson (4-6) returns home to host Dean next Friday, April 20.