Leland's Heroic Header Helps WNE Tie Trinity

Springfield, Mass. (September 27, 2022) - The Western New England Golden Bears hosted Trinity College in a non-conference match today. WNE looked to gain momentum from their win against Nichols on Saturday. On the other side, the Trinity Bantams came into Springfield, hoping to get their first win of the season. 

Records:

• Western New England: 5-3-1 
• Trinity College: 0-3-3

How it Happened:

The game started slowly as the teams sent the ball back and forth over the midfield line. The shooting stat line would start with a shot by Matt Spruill that would glance off the top woodwork in the ninth minute. Mike Milazzo would follow that up with a shot in the 15th minute that flew out of bounds left of the net. Both teams would then be hit with offside violations as they tried to start the scoring. In the 26th minute, Milazzo would get another opportunity, but his shot would, again, slide out to the left of the net. Jayden Montagna would try a shot in the 30th minute, but a Trinity player was there to block the ball from getting to the Trinity GK Bernarda Simoes. Trinity would spring to life towards the end of the first half with shots on goal by Alex Guglielmo and Evans Djohan. Guglielmo's shot would slide to the bottom left corner of the goal, and Djohan's shot would stay in the bottom center. However, WNE keeper Roger Leland would make two saves to deny the Bantams the opening goal. 

As the first half's final minutes ticked away, Jacob Loor, a Trinity midfielder/forward, got the ball at the bottom of the WNE penalty box. He saw an opening on net and attempted a shot on net, but Spruill slid in and made the save to keep the score at 0-0. Loor would have one more shot at the end of the half, but it would be blocked before getting near the net. The first ended at a score of 0-0. Both teams would have four shots each in the first half, with WNE having none of those shots be on goal, and Trinity would get three on goal. Trinity attempted three corner kicks to WNE's zero corners. Lastly, Trinity would have most of the fouls in the first half as they fouled WNE ten times, and WNE only fouled Trinity five times. 

As the second half got underway, Trinity looked to be the first team on the scoreboard. They controlled possession to start the half and had a Michael Traynor shot go right of the net in the 54th minute. Shortly after, Dante Merlin ran towards the left side of the WNE goal and was taken down. A penalty kick was awarded for the violation. Traynor stepped up to take the penalty kick. As Traynor slowly jogged up to shoot the ball, Leland eyed him down and decided where to dive. As Traynor sent the ball towards the right side of the net, Leland dove towards the same spot and batted the ball out of the way of the goal and out of bounds for the save. That huge save led to a Trinity corner, but the corner was dealt with, and the game calmed down slightly. Montagna would put a shot up in the 58th minute, but it sailed over the net. The penalty kick save seemed to be exactly what WNE needed as they started to build momentum. In the 60th minute, Spruill had two shots on net in the bottom left corner, but Simoes would make two big saves to keep the game level at zero. Those shots were immediately followed up by a Jonny Clough shot in the same direction as Spruill's, and again Simoes was there for the save.

As the game moved along, there were shots from both sides that did not worry either goalkeeper. The game would creep towards the end, with both teams making more and more moves at a goal they hoped would be the winner. Neither team would make much headway until the clock showed under ten minutes left to play in the game. That is when Trinity struck. Rasheed Sarieh received a throw-in that he took to the right side of the penalty box and stopped hard to gain footing. He then sent a left-footed shot at Leland, who went down to make the save, but the ball would squeak by and into the back of the net to give Trinity a 1-0 lead. 

WNE would not sulk, though. They went right to the attack, with Malik Serriser getting a shot off that went out of bounds to the right of the net. Sam Riley would then put a header on the ball that made Simoes have to make a save in the top right portion of the goal. A shot followed that up by Milazzo to the bottom left that Simoes had to lunge to get to and save, but he did. In the 88th minute, WNE would see one of their final opportunities of the game. A corner, taken by Shay O'Neill. Since time was expiring, Leland ran to the opposite goal box, hoping to get a head on the ball and put it into the net. As Shay bent a corner into the box, it tracked towards Leland. Leland rose and got his head on the ball. He sent the ball towards the center of the net and down towards the ground. The ball bounced off the ground and into the back of the net for the game-tying goal. That made the game 1-1. That is how the game would end.

The final stats showed the Golden Bears up 19 to 13 regarding shots. Trinity had more saves, with Simoes making six saves and Leland making three. WNE had four saves, with Spruill getting recognition for one of the saves. Trinity had seven corner kicks, and WNE had six. After starting with ten, Trinity only had 12 fouls in total, and WNE would get up to 11 fouls. It would be a wild game that ended in a 1-1 draw.

Inside the Lines:

• WNE took on the Trinity Bantams in a non-conference bout where Trinity tried to earn their first win of the season.
• The first half was even, with the score being 0-0 as the two sides broke for halftime.
• In the 56th minute, Roger Leland made a diving save on Michael Traynor to keep the score 0-0.
• Rasheed Sarieh put a left-footed shot on net that made it into the net in the 81st minute. 
• Roger Leland scored off a corner kick with a header on net to make it 1-1.
• Trinity and WNE battled to a 1-1 draw.

Up Next on the Schedule:

• WNE travels to Endicott for a CCC matchup on Friday, September 30, at 7:00 pm.
• Trinity will stay on the road as they travel to Bates College for a NESCAC matchup on Saturday, October 1, at 1:30 pm.