Morgan Smith’s Late Goal Lifts Western New England to Key 2-1 CCC Victory Over Roger Williams

Delude nets equalizer for Golden Bears, who improve to 6-1 in conference play

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (October 17, 2017) – Another late goal by freshman forward Morgan Smith (Manchester, Conn.) lifted the Western New England University women's soccer team to a key 2-1 victory over Roger Williams University on Tuesday afternoon in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) action at Suprenant Field.

Top Performers
• Smith, who has scored in three consecutive games and four of the last six overall, snapped a 1-1 tie with a clutch, go-ahead goal in the 89^th minute, less than five minutes after re-entering the contest as a substitution.
• Senior midfielder Christina Delude (Belchertown, Mass.) scored the equalizer for the Golden Bears early in the second half.
• Senior forward Brooke Labrie (Granby, Mass.) was credited with assists on both Western New England goals.  
• Sophomore goalkeeper Alex Lemekha (Stamford, Conn.) finished with eight saves, including five in the first half.

• Senior midfielder Kasey Provost (Peabody, Mass.) scored the lone goal for Roger Williams on a feed from freshman forward Ali Waxgiser (Harding, N.J.) in the 19^th minute.

Match Review
• Waxgiser and Provost combined for the game's opening goal at the 18:52 mark, as the freshman chased down a ball in the corner and sent in a cross to the senior, who settled the ball and buried a shot into the lower left corner of the net.
• Western New England's only shot on goal of the first half came in the 38^th minute, when sophomore midfielder Jordan Gilmore (Waterbury, Conn.) had her attempt saved by Roger Williams senior goalkeeper Natalie O'Donovan (Quincy, Mass.).
• The Golden Bears equalized just 1:25 into the second half, however, when Labrie made a move into the box past several Roger Williams defenders and fired a shot on goal. O'Donovan made a diving stop, but Delude was there to put home the rebound at the far post.
• Western New England had several opportunities to pull ahead later in the half, including shots by freshman Shawna O'Neill (Worcester, Mass.) and sophomore Kaeli Serafino (Ludlow, Mass.) that went wide in the 65^th and 66^th minutes, respectively.
• With just over a minute remaining, Labrie sent a long pass from midfield to Smith, who chased the ball down just outside the corner of the box, made a move around the charging Roger Williams goalkeeper, and calmly slotted home the game-winning goal with a shot inside the far post.
• Roger Williams had one more chance with a free kick in the final minute, but Lemekha made an easy save to seal the triumph.

Notes
• With the win, the Golden Bears (6-1 CCC) vault ahead of the Hawks (5-1-1 CCC) in the conference standings. Western New England currently sits alone in first place, with Endicott College (5-0-1 CCC) set to take on Wentworth (2-3-1 CCC) tomorrow afternoon.
• Smith leads the Golden Bears and ranks ninth in the CCC with five goals this season. Four of her five goals have come in the second half, including three in the 77^th minute or later.
• Roger Williams outshot Western New England 16-11 and held a 2-0 edge in corner kicks.

Up Next
Western New England (8-6-2, 6-1 CCC) will be on the road for its final two matches of the regular season, beginning with Friday night's contest at Curry College. Roger Williams (9-7-2, 5-1-1 CCC) will also be in action on Friday at home against Nichols.