Vitka Lifts Golden Bears in OT over Salve Regina

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (April 19, 2022) – The Western New England women's lacrosse team needed overtime to knock off the Seahawks of Salve Regina University on Tuesday afternoon after senior Samantha Vitka scored the game winning goal just 1:02 into the extra session to give WNE a big CCC win.

Records:

• Western New England: 10-4, 5-1 CCC
• Salve Regina: 6-4, 3-3 CCC

How it Happened:

Salve Regina opened the scoring in the first quarter at the 8:58 mark when Libby Baldwin netted to opening mark to give the Seahawks the 1-0 lead. Western New England would respond with a goal at the 8:03 mark when Anabella Arias scored an unassisted tally to even the score at one. Salve Regina would quickly score two goals in 39 seconds to take a quick two goal lead as Kayli Garcia and Kimberly Dunn would find the back of the net for the Seahawks, leading to Salve's 3-1 lead. WNE would collect the last goal of the quarter when Reilly Miller came away with a pass from Liz Mazza and pounded the back of the net with the shot to end the first quarter with a 3-2 deficit. WNE took seven shots in the first quarter, while Salve came away with six. 

The second quarter would belong to Salve as they scored all four goals of the quarter to take a five-goal lead into the second half. Goals from Kayli Garcia, Nicole Smith, and Cameron Baston, would give the Seahawks a 7-2 lead. WNE would be outshined in the quarter by Grace Haesche, who made six saves for Salve to keep the Golden Bears off the board in the quarter. 

Western New England would bounce back in the third quarter, collecting four of the five goals, including the opening two goals to get back into the contest. Reilly Miller would tally her second of the afternoon for WNE, while Kylie Buchanan would pick up a goal from Hannah Jarvis to send Salve's lead to just three goals. Holly Sullivan would score for the Seahawks to stop WNE's scoring run to get Salve their four-goal lead back. Two goals in less than a minute for the Golden Bears by Madisyn Crotta and Hannah Jarvis would send WNE to a two-goal deficit after three quarters of play. WNE would shoot 14 times in the third quarter to Salve's four. Grace Haesche would make an additional five saves for Salve in the quarter, picking up 14 through three quarters of play.

In an attempt to get back in the contest, the Golden Bears worked tirelessly to break down the defense of Salve Regina. WNE would surrender the first goal of the quarter on a free position shot as the Seahawks regained their three-goal edge. Western New England would cut the Seahawks lead to just one goal when Madisyn Crotta and Samantha Vitka found the back of the net fo WNE, giving the Golden Bears just a one goal deficit with 8:20 to play in the contest. Salve Regina would pick up the next goal of the contest when Kayli Garcia netted her fourth of the afternoon for Salve to give the Seahawks a two goal lead. With 1:43 remaining, Anabella Arias scored her second of the afternoon to get the Golden Bears back to a one goal deficit. Liz Mazza would respond with just 17 seconds to play in the fourth to tie the game at four and send the game to overtime, the first OT game of the season for Western New England.

WNE would end the overtime session in just 1:02 after a draw control was won by Samantha Vitka. Vitka would work the defense of the Seahawks, darting straight for goal and picking up her second goal of the contest, this time a game winner as the Golden Bears would pick up a crucial CCC win over the Seahawks, defeating Salve Regina 11-10 from Golden Bear Stadium in overtime. 

Inside the Arc:

• Samantha Vitka led the way for the Golden Bears, coming away with two goals, including the game winner. Vitka came away with 11 draw control victories and took five shots on goal. 
• Anabella Arias and Reilly Miller cashed in twice each for WNE in the win. 
• Western New England would outshoot Salve Regina 42-25 in the contest, picking up the lone shot in OT to win the game. Western New England also collected 35 ground balls in the win, while Salve scooped 33. 
• Grace Haesche led Salve with a 16 save effort in the loss. Haesche also scooped three ground balls. Kayli Garcia scored four times for Salve Regina in the loss. 
• WNE went 18/25 in draw controls, including 11/14 in the second half. 

Up Next on the Schedule:

• WNE travels to Eastern Connecticut State University on Thursday, April 21 at 4:00 pm for their final non-conference contest of the season. 
• Salve Regina hosts Wentworth on Saturday, April 23 at 4:00 pm for their senior day.