Johnston’s Late Heroics Sends Field Hockey Past Wheaton College

NORTON, Mass. (September 6, 2022) – The Western New England field hockey team saw a goal with under three minutes left to play in the fourth quarter fall into the back of the net off the stick of Sarah Johnston as the Golden Bears took down the Lyons 3-2 from Diane Nordin Field on Tuesday night. 

Records:

• Western New England: 2-0
• Wheaton College: 0-3

How it Happened:
Western New England wasted little time to get on the board in the opening quarter as Taylor Klesyk would make a pass to Emily Campbell who dished home her second goal of the season to give the Golden Bears a 1-0 lead. The Golden Bears would dominate much of the play in the first 15 minutes, out shooting the Lyons 9-2. Sophomore goalkeeper Zoey Wexler came away with one save on one shot on goal faced by the Lyons while GK Emma Lapreziosa made five stops on six shots faced in the opening 15 minutes for Wheaton. Western New England would exit with a 1-0 lead after one quarter. 

Following more play which was dominated by the Golden Bears, Wheaton College came away with their first goal of the contest after Bridget Healy knocked in her first of the season, the first goal Western New England has surrendered on the year, evening the score a one all. Western New England would come up empty in the score column in the quarter, though outshot Wheaton 6-2. The Lyons did come away with four penalty corners in the quarter to WNE's two. 

Western New England would open the third half with a flurry of shots, though the Wheaton College goalkeeper came up big to keep the Golden Bears off the scoreboard. Western New England was awarded with ten shots in the third quarter, while Wheaton College failed to take a shot. Western New England would eventually capitalize at the midway point of the third quarter when Carly-Anna Barba deflected home a shot taken by Emily Campbell to give Western New England their one goal advantage back. The Golden Bears would take their one goal lead into the final 15 minutes of play. 

That one goal lead did not last long, however, as just 35 seconds into the quarter, Wheaton's Delia Knox was able to stuff home a chance in front of the net off a pass into the crease from Sophie Shekarchi giving Wheaton their second goal of the game and evening the score once more. Wheaton College came away with five shots during the fourth quarter, all on goal, while Zoey Wexler came away with four saves to keep the Lyons off the scoreboard. The Golden Bears would get one final chance in the last minutes of the game when WNE was awarded with their 21^st penalty corner of the game. After Carly-Anna Barba was able to dish the ball forward, Taylor Klesyk and Abby Burns would set up Sarah Johnston, who tucked the ball into the back of the net with 2:57 remaining on the clock to give Western New England a 3-2 lead. Just second later, Delia Knox would look to answer the goal from Johnston though Wexler would deny the chance, holding the Lyons off the scoreboard the preserving the win for the Golden Bears as Western New England took down Wheaton College by a final score of 3-2. 

Around the Lines:

• The Golden Bears would dominate the stat sheet, outshooting Wheaton 31-8 in the contest while taking nearly triple of Wheaton's penalty corners, at 21-8. 
• Taylor Klesyk took 11 shots for WNE, leading all players, putting seven on goal. 
• Emily Campbell scored her second goal of the season in the opening seconds of the game while also picking up one assist for the Golden Bears. 
• Sarah Johnston picked up the game winner, after taking three shots, two on goal, in the win. 
• GK Zoey Wexler made three stops on five shots on goal faced. Her counterpart, Emma Lapreziosa made 15 saves on WNE's 18 shots on goal. 
• Wheaton was led by Delia Knox who scored once while putting up three shots on goal. 

Up Next on the Schedule:

• The Golden Bears remain on the road, traveling to MIT on Saturday, September 10 at 1:15 pm.
• Wheaton College heads to Nichols College on the same date.