Montalvo's Two Goals Sink Wentworth, Helps WNE Lock up First Ever CCC Tournament One Seed

Springfield, Mass. (October 26, 2022) - The Golden Bears returned to the pitch after a tough 1-0 loss at home against Roger Williams. Already locked into the number one seed in the CCC playoffs, WNE hosted the Wentworth Institute of Technology Leopards. The Leopards were coming off a big win against Endicott College on Saturday, and a win would see them be placed as the number seven seed in the playoffs.

Records:

• Western New England: 11-5-1 (6-2-1)
• Wentworth Institute of Technology: 8-7-2 (3-5-1)

How it Happened:

As soon as the ball was kicked into play by Wentworth, WNE was on the attack. Isabella Montalvo ran right at the ball, causing Wentworth to rush and turn the ball over to Montalvo. Montalvo controlled the ball and sent a hard shot at goal, but WIT's GK Juliana Heaton made a falling save to keep the score at zero a piece in the opening seconds of the game. Soon after, Montalvo had another opportunity on goal, but Heaton made another early save. WNE kept the pressure on by controlling the majority of possession early on. In the 8th minute, the continued pressure paid off. Allison Bruehwiler flew down the left side of the field and sent a cross toward Montalvo. The ball bounced off a couple of Wentworth players before falling in front of Montalvo. Montalvo quickly put a foot to the ball and sent the ball into the net. WNE lead 1-0 early. That goal was followed up by more WNE pressure. Summer Hathaway sent a shot over the net and out of play. However, the pressure only kept the Leopards at bay for a short time. WIT's Meghan Barilone made a move and put pressure back on WNE. It ended with Barilone sending a pass over to Diana Bruggeman on the left side, who sent the ball right past WNE GK Molly McLaughlin to tie the game at one in the 10th minute. 

That goal only made WNE put more pressure on the Leopards. Bruehwiler sent a shot wide left of the net. A beautiful opportunity from Samantha Vitka followed that up, but Heaton pushed it away from the net. Vitka had another opportunity 30 seconds later, but it went wide of the net. WNE was taking the ball away from Wentworth as soon as they could and turning the ball into Wentworth's end. In the 17th minute, Danielle McCarthy put a shot to the top right of the goal. Wentworth got a spark of hope in the 20th minute, but a WNE defender blocked a shot by Jenny Montville. That led to a counter-attack by WNE and a Vitka shot on goal. Heaton was there for the save again to keep Vitka from giving the Golden Bears the lead. The 27th minute saw Julia Frappier send a shot at Heaton, but Heaton was equal to the task again. Montville would respond with a shot on the other end, but the ball jumped off the foot of Montville and over the crossbar. Bruehwiler responded in the 30th minute with a shot at Heaton. However, Heaton kept the Golden Bears from taking the lead again. Gabby Sansone followed Bruehwiler's shot with a shot that went high and wide left of the net. The action stayed closer to mid-field for a while, with smaller opportunities arising. However, in the 40th minute, Brynn Murphy tested Heaton. Heaton denied Murphy and kept the score even. That would be the final major opportunity for the first half; at halftime, the score was 1-1.

The stat line at halftime saw WNE dominating. WNE outshot Wentworth 14 to three. WNE had eight shots on net, with one of them getting past Heaton. Wentworth got one shot on net, which is all they needed for a goal. WNE was awarded seven corner kicks in the first half to Wentworth's zero. Lastly, WNE committed three fouls, and WIT only committed one. It was a half that felt like WNE dominated it, but Wentworth did just enough to keep it close going into halftime.

WNE came out of halftime with a purpose. The Golden Bears held possession early, leading to a Vitka shot toward the bottom right of the net. However, Heaton started the second half like she did the first half, with a big save. Wentworth then went on the attack and was close to some big opportunities. However, shots by Mckenzie Collins and Jenny Montville were blocked and went over the crossbar, respectively. The 59th minute saw Gabby Sansone have eyes for goal, but the ball sailed over the net. Then, in the 64th minute, Sansone ran down the left side of the field and was found inside the penalty box. Sansone took a touch and fired a shot toward the bottom left of the net. However, it plunked off of the left post and out of play. Montalvo went for goal in the 65th minute, but it was pushed wide right of the net. After that, WNE could feel the momentum swinging in their favor. Lindsay Reidy and Allison VanVolkenburg had shots that made Heaton work for a save. Reidy's shot was saved in the top left corner of the goal. VanVolkenburg was saved toward the center of the goal. In the 72nd minute, WNE made contact with the back of the net for the second time.

Sansone dribbled from left to right and sent a pass over to Reidy, who waited on the right side of the field. Reidy then sent a from just outside the penalty box toward the net. It went over Heaton's stretched arm and bounced off a defender and into the top left corner of the net. That made the game 2-1, with WNE in the lead. Just four minutes later, WNE made a run into the right side of the WIT penalty box. A WIT defender pulled down a WNE attacker leading to a penalty shot. The shot was taken by Isabella Montalvo, who did not hesitate when taking the shot and buried the ball in the back of the net on the left side of the goal. The score was now WNE, three, Wentworth, one. WNE was not done pressing forward toward goal, though. A few shots were taken that went wide and high of the net. Then, Sansone sent a shot in the 81st minute at Heaton. Heaton made another save and then followed that up with a save on Montalvo in the 82nd minute. After a shot each from WNE and WIT, the game ended with a final score of 3-1 WNE. 

The final stat line showed the same as the scoreboard. 31 shots were taken by WNE and six from Wentworth. WNE sent 16 shots on goal, but Heaton made 13 saves. Wentworth sent one shot on net, and it got into the goal. Western New England was awarded 12 corner kicks, and Wentworth had none. Both teams picked up six fouls each. That 3-1 victory helped WNE earn their 11th victory of the year.

Inside the Lines:

• The WNE Golden Bears took on the WIT Leopards in both teams' final game of the regular season.
• WNE got on the board early when Isabella Montalvo scored in the 8th minute.
• Diana Bruggeman leveled the score in the 10th minute off an assist by Meghan Barilone.
• It took some time, but WNE got the lead back in the 72nd minute when Lindsay Reidy found the back of the net with a shot from outside the penalty box. Gabby Sansone was credited with the assist.
• Montalvo ended the scoring in the 76th minute with a penalty kick goal.
• WNE won the game 3-1.

Up Next on the Schedule:

• WNE moves on to the CCC tournament on Saturday, October 26, when they play host to the eight-seeded Wentworth Leopards again. The time is to be determined.
• Wentworth moves on to the CCC tournament as well. They will return to Springfield to take on t