Spruill’s Two Tallies Lifts Men’s Soccer to First Home Win

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (September 4, 2022) – The Western New England men's soccer team hosted an early morning competition on Sunday, taking on the Blazers of Elms College. WNE was able to score four second half goals, led by first year Matt Spruill to give Western New England their second win in under 24 hours, taking down Elms by a final score of 4-0 from Suprenant Field. 

Records:

• Western New England: 2-1
• Elms College: 1-1

How it Happened:
Western New England, who is coming off a 3-2 thrilling win on the road less than 24 hours ago, was right back in action for a rare morning match with the Blazers of Elms College. Western New England would carry much of the momentum for the Golden Bears, taking 17 shots in the first half to the Blazers one. Goalkeeper Collin Liedke would stand tall for Elms, however, making seven shots on goal on seven attempts by the Golden Bears to hold WNE at bey. The Blazers started off hot, getting their best scoring chance of the contest just less than four minutes into the game, though starting keeper for WNE Ryan Suprin was up to the task, holding Elms off the board. WNE would end the first half without a goal, though took three corner kicks in the half to Elms' one. 

The Golden Bears would light the lamp and score their first goal on home grass in the 59^th minute of the contest after Shay O'Neill took a free kick that sailed into the box and found the head of Matt Spruill, who tucked the ball into the bottom left corner of the net to give Western New England the 1-0 lead. Just minutes later, Spruill was at it again, this time heading home a throw in from teammate Malik Serisser to give Western New England a 2-0 lead. With his two goals, Spruill picked up his first two collegiate goals of his career. Shay O'Neill would also credit his first career point on Spruill's first tally of the game. 

Western New England would find their offensive game in a heap, grabbing their third goal of the game just five minutes later when Sean Lanzillo made a through ball pass to Brandon Lewis who was able to tuck the ball into the back of the net, beating Elms College keeper Collin Liedke to give WNE the 3-0 lead. Lewis picks up his first goal of the season, while Lanzillo tucked away his first assist of his career. The Golden Bears were at it again, scoring their final goal of the game in the 70^th minute, when first year Josh Gstell was able to find a loose ball inside the box and tuck it away to score his first career goal for Western New England on an assist from Lanzillo to give Western New England the 4-0 lead. From there, WNE would hold Elms at a standstill, allowing just two shots towards goal, though none on goal for new WNE goalkeeper Roger Leland, who picked up the win in the contest, though was not forced to record a save in the win. Western New England would take down Elms by a final score of 4-0. 

Around the Lines:

• Matt Spruill highlighted a scoring fury by Western New England, scoring two goals on the morning, picking up his first and second collegiate goals. 
• Shay O'Neill picked up his first career assist for Western New England in the win, while teammate Josh Gstell also picked up his first career goal. 
• Captain Sean Lanzillo would lead WNE with two assists on the morning. 
• Western New England outshot Elms 37-3 in the contest, while WNE put 14 shots on goal, forcing Collin Liedke to make ten saves. Western New England would record one save in 90 minutes, as Ryan Suprin would collect the lone denial for the Golden Bears. 
• Corner kicks were slim in the morning contest, as WNE led that category 4-2. 

Up Next on the Schedule:

• Western New England travels to Westfield State University on Wednesday, September 7 at 4:00 pm. 
• Elms College hosts Nichols College on the same date at 7:00 pm.