Golden Bears Fall at Western Connecticut in Season Opener

DANBURY, Conn. (September 1, 2022) - The Western New England Golden Bears started their season today against the Western Connecticut State Wolves as WNE looked to win their fourth opener in five years with today's matchup against the Wolves of Western Connecticut State University. However, the Wolves scored once in each half to hand the Golden Bears a 2-0 loss.

Records:

• Western New England: 0-1-0
• Western Connecticut State: 1-0-0

How it Happened:

As the game kicked off between the Golden Bears and Wolves, it did not take long for the teams to settle in. Wolves' Myah Croze put a shot on WNE's GK Molly McLaughlin that McLaughlin was able to save. That was answered a few minutes later by Samantha Vitka, sending a ball toward the net saved by WCSU GK Kristin Roessler. WCSU would turn around and fire two shots on net, the first was saved, but the second shot, in the 13^th minute, found the back of the WNE net. Kyla Norton scored for the Wolves off an assist by Julia DePalma to give West Conn their first goal of the 2022 campaign. 

Allison Bruehwiler would come down the pitch minutes later but send the ball wide of the net and did not worry Roessler. Four shots would follow in the next several minutes by the Wolves. Two of which contested McLaughlin, but she was able to defend her net well on both. The other two shots would go wide of the net. WCSU would shoot two more shots towards the end of the half, but neither would find the WNE goalkeeper, and to finish off the half, WNE would try for a goal, but send the ball above the crossbar. WNE would have three shots in total in the first half to the Wolves nine. Only one shot would have to be saved by WCSU, and WNE would make four saves on five shots on net during the first half.

As the second half began, it did not take the Golden Bears long to take charge. Bruehwiler would take a hard shot wide of the net, and a few minutes later, Isabella Montalvo would put a shot on net that would contest Roessler, but she would make the save to keep WNE goalless. After that, WNE would keep its foot on the gas, pressuring the Wolves every second they could. In the 63^rd and 65^th  minutes, WNE shot the ball, but missed the net on one and had another blocked. Next, WNE would get multiple corners, but were not able to convert, and then WCSU would see a great chance open up on a shot by Skylar Jorge that McLaughlin was able to stop with a sliding save. Unfortunately, the pressure by WNE would be figured out by WCSU, and the Wolves would get a nice opportunity down the right side that ended with Suzana Imetovski finding the back of the net after an assist by Samantha Larkin.

The Golden Bears would try and find an answer for the Wolves after a second goal from WCSU. However, the big opportunity would come at the end of the game when a WNE player was dragged down in the penalty box leading to a penalty shot. Bruehwiler would take the shot for WNE and send it toward the bottom left corner of the net, but Roessler was equal to the task and could get in front of the ball and not let the ball find the net. That would end the game with the final score being 2-0.

The Golden Bears would outshoot the Wolves nine to three in the second half to even up the shots attempted at twelve shots by each side. WNE would make six saves compared to WCSU's four and would have more corner kicks at the end of the game, with nine compared to the Wolves only taking one corner during the 90-minute game. The extra shots on net would help WCSU beat WNE for the second year in a row.

Inside the Lines:

• Today's matchup was the fifth in the last six years, with the Wolves taking four of the last five meetings.
• McLaughlin would make six of eight possible saves on the night and play all 90 minutes of the game. Roessler would save all four shots put on goal.
• Kyla Norton and Suzana Imetovski would open the scoring for the 2022 campaign for the Wolves. 
• The Golden Bears and Wolves would share the same amount of shots, with twelve each. However, WCSU would have more shots on goal than WNE.
• The fouls were even, with both teams committing seven each, and WNE would have eight more corner kicks than WCSU. 
• The Wolves would use the two extra shots on net to score two goals and take their first win of the year, 2-0.

Up Next on the Schedule:

• Western New England will return home for a matchup with Keene State at noon on Saturday at Suprenant Field.
• Western Connecticut State University will stay at home for their next game against WPI at 1:00 pm on Saturday.