Women's Soccer Falls on Opening Day

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (September 1, 2021) - The Western New England University women's soccer team opened their 2021 campaign at a rainy Supernant Field as the visiting Rowan University Profs took control of the second half to get past the Golden Bears by a score of 2-0. Both teams opened their non-conference schedule on the afternoon, with the Profs taking a 12-8 advantage in shots in their win.

Records:

• Rowan University: 1-0
• Western New England University: 0-1

How it Happened:

The Golden Bears would get the first few chances of the contest, putting pressure of their opponent, who they played for the first time in their program's history. Western New England would take five first half shots, with the Profs sending four shots towards goal in the first half. Profs GK Bristol Pizzuto turned aside all four shots on goal from the Golden Bears in the opening frame, with GK Molly McLaughlin making two saves on two attempts in the first 45 minutes. 

The contest would be a tale of two halves, as the Golden Bears seemed to have the first half edge. The Profs would take control early in the second half, finding the back of the cage just eight minutes into the second half. Nina Carlson dribbled the ball to the outside of the box and sent the ball towards the middle of the box, where she was able to find teammate Aidan Sheehan latched onto a defender. Sheehan would take the ball and use her right foot shot to send it into the back of the net, giving Rowan their first goal of the season, and first goal of the contest. Sheehan finds twine for the 10^th time in her career for the Profs, coming off a six-goal outing in the 2019 season. 

The Golden Bears would try to spark some offense after the tally from Rowan, but GK Bristol Pizzuto stood tall in between the pipes for the visiting Profs. The Profs would score their second goal of the contest after the Golden Bears would take down Gabby Dean inside the box, resulting in a penalty shot for Rowan. Emma DeMaise would take the shot for the Profs and would make no mistake with the shot, putting the shot in the lower left corner, the location in which Molly McLaughlin dove, though the ball just rolled over the line past the dive of McLaughlin to give Rowan the 2-0 lead. 

Rowan University controlled much of the final 25 minutes of the game, giving the Golden Bears little chance at making a comeback. Western New England's best chance came in the 74^th minute when senior captain Hannah Richard took the ball off a thrown in and took a strike on net, though Bristol Pizzuto would preserve the shutout, picking up her first of the season, and third career shutout in the 2-0 win. 

Inside the Lines: 

• The Golden Bears came away with seven corner kicks in the contest, five more than their opponent, who came away with just two in the game. 
• Rowan University outshot the Golden Bears 8-3 in the second half, and 12-8 in the contest. 
• WNE was led by Allison Bruehwiler and Kristin Decost who both put up two shots on the net in the afternoon's loss. Four players for the Profs took at least two shots in the contest, with both goal scorers taking two each. 
• The Golden Bears fall on opening day for the first time since 2017. WNE had previously won the last two opening day games, both against Keene State College. 

Upcoming on the Schedule: 

• The Golden Bears will next be in action on Saturday, September 4 when they travel to Keene, N.H. for a matchup with the Owls. Kickoff is set for 11:30 am.
• Rowan will open their home schedule on Saturday, September 4 when they host Centenary University (NJ) at 4:00 pm.