Golden Bears Keep Rolling with 2-0 Win over Nichols in Regular Season Finale

Western New England extends winning streak to four games heading into postseason

DUDLEY, Mass. (October 26, 2018) – The Western New England University field hockey team wrapped up its regular season schedule with a 2-0 shutout victory over Nichols College on Friday evening in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) action at Vendetti Field.

Top Performers
Junior Jacqueline Clark (Auburn, Mass.) and freshman Ali Larochelle (New Boston, N.H.) provided the offense for the Golden Bears with one goal each, while senior goalie Dana Dufour (Gloucester, Mass.) was impressive in the cage with a 13-save shutout performance.

Game Review
Clark staked the Golden Bears to an early 1-0 lead as she scored her team-leading 12^th goal of the season on a feed from freshman Maggie Gallagher (West Chester, Pa.) just 2:26 into the contest.

Despite being outshot 12-3 in the first half, Western New England led 1-0 at the break with the help of Clark's goal and nine saves from Dufour.

The Golden Bears tacked on an insurance goal at the 48:36 mark to extend their advantage to 2-0. Nichols junior goalie Brooke Misbach (Guilford, Conn.) saved a shot by Western New England senior Halle Harvey (Millers Falls, Mass.), but Larochelle was there to collect the rebound and send the ball into the back of the cage.

Dufour stopped the final three shots she faced to preserve the shutout for the Golden Bears.

Notes
• The Golden Bears have now won four consecutive games, extending their longest winning streak of the season.
• Dufour topped the 10-save mark for the fifth time this season.
• The Bison outshot the Golden Bears 21-11 and held a 10-3 advantage in penalty corners.

Up Next
Western New England (7-11, 6-6 CCC) will enter next week's CCC Tournament as the No. 3 seed, and the Golden Bears will travel to Biddeford, Maine on Thursday to face second-seeded University of New England. Nichols' season comes to a close at 8-10 (3-9 CCC).