Trio of Golden Bears Score as WNE Blows Past Nichols

Springfield, Mass. (September 24, 2022) - The Western New England Golden Bears hosted the Nichols College Bison today at Suprenant Field. The Golden Bears were looking for their first CCC win of the season, and the Bison looked to stay undefeated in conference play by aiming for their second CCC win this season.

Records:

• Western New England: 4-3-1 (1-0-1)
• Nichols College: 3-3-1 (1-1-0)

How it Happened:

After being winless in their last three games, the Golden Bears started the game with ferocity. They started quickly, with Danielle McCarthy shooting the ball in the second minute, but it would pass wide to the left of the net. However, that was only the start, as WNE would quickly find themselves in a scoring position again. Less than a minute later, in the third minute of play, Jordan Paré sent a through ball right past the Nichols defender to a streaking Allison Bruehwiler, who took a touch and then sent a rocket at the Nichols GK, Saige Frazier. The ball would be tipped by Frazier, but would trickle past her and into the bottom of the net for the afternoon's first goal. The Golden Bears were on the board quickly. A minute later, Bruehwiler would have another opportunity to score, but Frazier would stand tall and save that one. It bounced back to Bruehwiler, who took another shot, but it sailed to the right of the net. Nichols would get a shot off in the eighth minute when Falyn Hunt put foot to ball. The ball was blocked, though, and never made it to WNE GK Molly McLaughlin. 

WNE had a pair of shots in the 17th and 18th minutes, respectively. Danielle McCarthy and Julia Frappier both tested Frazier, but Frazier would handle the shots pretty easily. WNE continued their attack with a few more shots that didn't test Frazier. Then, in the 26th minute, Summer Hathaway put a shot on net in the bottom left corner, but Frazier made a diving save and pushed the ball out of bounds. That was followed up by Kyleigh Wheaton sending shots on net in the 31st and 33rd minutes. Wheaton would then get an assist just seconds later as she assisted Summer Hathaway, who put a shot on net that would get past the defenders and goalie. It connected with the top-left part of the net to put WNE up 2-0 with a little over ten minutes left to play in the first half. 

WNE did not take their foot off the gas, though. Gabby Sansone put two shots on net in the 37th and 40th minutes. Both made Frazier work to keep the deficit at two. She would do just that. Nichols showed some life in the 42nd minute when Maddie Clark got open for an opportunity, but she sent the ball out to the left of net and did not worry McLaughlin. Sansone tried again in the 43rd minute when she got past her defender and put a shot on Frazier, but Frazier handled it cleanly. In the final minute of first-half play, Niah Samboy put a shot up, but it sailed high of the crossbar. The first half would end at a score of 2-0, with WNE having the lead.

WNE shot the ball 18 times in the first half, with 12 of those shots being on goal. Nichols finished the first half with five shots, but none of them would be on net. Western New England attempted seven corner kicks to Nichols' three, and WNE had seven fouls to the four committed by the Bison.

As the second half started, it was obvious that Nichols wanted to get a goal on the board. They passed the ball cleanly and got possession down the field quickly. In the 51st minute, they would see a shot by Grace Killman go wide right of the WNE goal. Then, in the 54th minute, Emily Feisthamel attempted a shot for Nichols, but it was blocked by WNE and sent up the field. Jordan Paré would end up with the ball, make a move, and fired a shot across the box, past Frazier, and into the left side of the net for the third goal of the afternoon for the Golden Bears. Abby Free would pick up an assist on the play after sending the through ball to feed Pare. That put WNE up 3-0 early in the second half. In the 63rd minute, Nichols got their first attempt on McLaughlin of the game. Grace Killman shot the ball at the bottom, center of the net, but McLaughlin saved it cleanly. WNE's Ashley Collins would answer with a shot on Frazier in the 71st minute. Frazier would make another save. Lindsay Reidy followed that up in the 76th minute, but Frazier would make a save again. The Golden Bears get pushing for a fourth goal. In the 80th minute, Hathaway went for her second goal of the day, but Frazier would not let the ball by, making another save. Alyssa Smith would get in on the action in the 84th minute when she put a shot on net, but Frazier stood strong and saved the shot. The last major opportunity came in the 88th minute when Wheaton put a shot on net that beat Frazier, but rolled too much to the left and bounced off the left goalpost. 

That would be it for the game, as it would end with a final score of 3-0, Golden Bears. WNE had a total of 30 shots, with 17 on net. The Bison had nine shots, with one of them being on net. Frazier made 14 saves for the Bison, and McLaughlin made the only save she had to to get the shutout. WNE attempted a total of 11 corner kicks to Nichols' seven. Finally, WNE would be called for 11 fouls, and the Bison would get called for six. 

Inside the Lines:

• Today's game saw the Bison of Nichol's College come to town to take on WNE in a CCC matchup. 
• Allison Bruehwiler got the scoring started with a third-minute goal assisted by Maria Butrimas. The ball got past the Nichols goalkeeper and trickled into the back of the net for her fifth goal of the year.
• Summer Hathaway scored her first of the season in the 34th minute off an assist by Kyleigh Wheaton. 
• Jordan Paré also got her first goal of the year in the 55th when she sent a curling shot past the Nichols goalkeeper and into the far-left side of the net.
• Saige Frazier had 14 saves for the Bison.
• Molly McLaughlin made the only save she had to as the WNE Golden Bears shut out the Nichols College Bison 3-0.

Up Next on the Schedule:

• Western New England will stay at home for their third straight home game as they take on Mount Holyoke College in a non-conference game on Wednesday, September 28, at 4:00 pm.
• Nichols returns home for a non-conference matchup with Russell Sage College on Tuesday, September 27, at 4:00 pm.