Golden Bears Come Up Short in Back and Forth Contest at Curry, 16-15

WNE posts late 4-0 run to pull ahead, before Colonels end contest with two unanswered goals

MILTON, Mass. (April 16, 2019) – The Western New England University women's lacrosse team was edged by Curry College, 16-15, in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) action on Tuesday night at Walter M. Katz Field.

Top Performers
Freshman Samantha Vitka (Stratford, Conn.) and sophomore Reilly Miller (Goshen, N.Y.) both posted four-point efforts to pace the Golden Bears offensively. Vitka scored a team-high four goals, while Miller finished with three goals and one assist.

Senior Kristen Breen (Ellington, Conn.) produced three points (one goal, two assists), while freshmen Hannah Jarvis (Westfield, Mass.) and Liz Mazza (East Longmeadow, Mass.) chipped in with two goals each. Vitka and Mazza led the Golden Bears in draw controls with six and four, respectively.

Curry junior Abby Dubel (Wolfeboro, N.H.) fueled the Colonels' attack with a game-high five goals to go with seven ground balls and four draw controls. Freshman Andria Torres (Milford, Conn.) and sophomore Allie Wysocki (Agawam, Mass.) both turned in four-point performances, while freshman Sharon Doherty (North Easton, Mass.) finished with two goals, one assist, and a game-high ten draw controls.

Game Review
Western New England started off the game with a 4-0 run over the first seven and a half minutes, with Vitka tallying a pair of goals.

The Colonels responded with a 4-0 spurt of their own, before Breen put the Golden Bears back in front (5-4) with 10:23 left in the first half.

After Doherty and Dubel found the back of the net to give the home team its first lead (6-5) at the 6:11 mark, Western New England put together a 3-0 run to reclaim an 8-6 edge. Wysocki scored for the Colonels with a minute left before halftime to cut the margin to one (8-7) heading into the break.

Miller buried a free position attempt for the Golden Bears early in the second half to restore Western New England's two-goal lead (9-7), but the Colonels utilized a 4-0 surge to retake the lead.

The back and forth continued as Vitka (22:28) and Miller (21:41) both notched unassisted goals for the visitors as Western New England tied the game at 11-11, but Curry again responded, this time using a 3-0 run with two goals from Torres to put the Colonels ahead 14-11 with 13:26 to play.

Western New England mounted one final rally, erasing its deficit as Mazza scored twice (12:19, 8:47) with a goal from Jarvis in between (12:08) to tie the game at 14-14. Vitka then gave the Golden Bears their final lead (15-14) on an unassisted strike with just under seven minutes to play.

The Golden Bears maintained their slim lead until Dubel converted a free position attempt with 1:31 on the clock to level the score yet again. Then, in the final minute, Torres set Doherty up for the go-ahead goal with 41 seconds to play.

Western New England had one final opportunity in the closing seconds, but Miller's free position shot went wide of the cage as Curry held on for the win.

Notes
• Western New England sophomore goalie Kaitlyn Marchant (Londonderry, N.H.) made a season-high 17 saves in the loss.
• The Golden Bears outshot the Colonels 47-41, but Curry held a 19-15 advantage in draw controls.

Up Next
Curry wraps up its regular season slate with a 10-7 (4-4 CCC) record, while Western New England (8-8, 3-4 CCC) has one game remaining against Salve Regina next Wednesday.