Prindle & Claflin Lead Golden Bears Past Clark, 2-1

Juniors both score second half goals as WNE snaps two-game skid

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (October 3, 2018) – Junior forwards Connor Prindle (Shelton, Conn.) and Brendan Claflin (Burlington, Mass.) both scored second half goals to lead the Western New England University men's soccer team past Clark University, 2-1, on Wednesday afternoon in non-conference action at Suprenant Field.

Top Performers
Prindle and Claflin put the Golden Bears ahead on two separate occasions in the second half, with Claflin's goal serving as the game-winner.

Junior defender Nick Kubacki (Belchertown, Mass.) assisted on Claflin's strike and also made a key defensive play late in the contest to help seal the win.

Clark junior Sean Munroe (Silver Spring, Md.) tallied his team-leading ninth goal of the season for the Cougars.

Game Review
Western New England and Clark played a scoreless opening half, but the Golden Bears nearly pulled ahead late in the period when sophomore forward Joseph Fortuna (Burlington, Conn.) struck the crossbar with a shot from 30 yards out. 

Early in the second half, sophomore forward Matt Remillard (Palmer, Mass.) put an attempt just wide of the goal and sophomore defender Dan Bronke (South Deerfield, Mass.) had his header saved by Clark sophomore goalkeeper Melvin Vincent (Rochester, Mass.) following a Western New England corner kick.

In the 63^rd minute, the Golden Bears finally broke through when junior Dante Cancellaro (Watertown, Conn.) sent in a cross from the right side and Prindle guided the ball into the goal with his chest.

Less than six minutes later, however, the Cougars equalized on Munroe's team-leading ninth goal of the season. Junior Caleb Urrutia (Rockville Centre, N.Y.) sent a cross into the box and classmate Evan Jurkowski (Ludlow, Mass.) headed the ball to Munroe, who tapped it past Western New England senior goalkeeper Sam Brewer (Westford, Mass.) to tie the contest.

The Golden Bears took the lead for good in the 74^th minute. Following a Western New England corner kick, Kubacki headed the ball to Claflin at the near post, where he fired a shot past sophomore goalie Marco White (Manhattan Beach, Calif.).  

Clark had one final opportunity to equalize again late, but Kubacki slid across the goal line to prevent sophomore Patrick Clark's (Plainville, Mass.) shot from finding the back of the net in the 85^th minute.

Notes
• Western New England outshot Clark 19-7, including 13-4 in the second half.
• Brewer made two saves for the Golden Bears, while Vincent and White combined to stop five shots for the Cougars.
• Prindle (six) and Claflin (five) have scored 11 of Western New England's 31 goals this season.

Up Next
Both teams will be back in action on Saturday, as Western New England (7-3-2) hosts Gordon and Clark (8-3) travels to Coast Guard.