Golden Bears stymie Seahawks

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - Western New England University defeated the Salve Regina University women's soccer team 3-0 in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) action.

Records:

• Western New England: 8-4-1 (3-1-1)
• Salve Regina University: 5-8-1 (2-2-1)

How it Happened:

The game started with WNE controlling possession. The pressure WNE applied early led to a shot by Isabella Montalvo that was blocked out of bounds for a corner kick. In the fifth minute, Montalvo would apply pressure again and, this time, would get it past the defenders and that goalie to send the Golden Bears onto the scoreboard 1-0. She was assisted on the play by Emily Chojnicki. It was a nice through ball that Montalvo could control and send into the back of the net. Salve Regina tried to respond, but WNE's pressure on the ball proved too much as they turned it over, leading to a Samantha Vitka shot in the tenth minute. Salve Regina GK, Georgia Drake, made the save with ease. Vitka tried twice more in the coming eight minutes, but neither shot would test Drake too much as the shots went wide right and high of the net, respectively. The ball went back and forth between teams for several minutes before WNE started to apply pressure again in the form of shots. Summer Hathaway sent the ball left of the net in the 26th minute. Gabby Sansone followed that up a minute later with a shot into the center of the net, but Drake was there for another save. Salve Regina showed some life in the 28th minute as they got a shot on WNE GK Molly McLaughlin, but McLaughlin was there for the save. More time passed before another shot from either team, but in the 39th minute, Salve Regina's Marissa Parachi got a shot on net. However, McLaughlin was there to collect the ball again. A minute later, Brynn Murphy tested Drake in net, but Drake was equal to the task and made a save. Three Salve Regina shots followed, but none of them worried McLaughlin. With the final seconds ticking away in the first half, Hannah Daniewicz put a shot on net for Salve Regina, but McLaughlin made another save to keep the score 1-0 going into halftime.

Western New England dominated the stat sheet in the first half. The Golden Bears had eight shots compared to SRU's six. WNE had four shots on goal, whereas SRU had three. Each team had three saves. WNE attempted five corner kicks, and Salve Regina only had one. Lastly, both sides had four fouls during the first half. WNE had a lot of the possession, but Salve Regina was not going away and was ready for the second half.

Coming out of halftime, Salve Regina controlled possession and had some opportunities to put pressure on WNE, but none were fruitful. Vitka and Montalvo had shots early in the second half for WNE, but neither shot worried Drake in net. In the 59th minute, Salve Regina got a shot off, but McLaughlin made the save to keep the Seahawks scoreless. Another shot followed that up on net, this time by Maddie Hudson. McLaughlin was there again. Samantha Vitka had an opportunity on the other end of the pitch, but Drake was there to redirect the ball out of bounds for a WNE corner kick. WNE's Brynn Murphy had another chance in the 68th minute, but Drake was there again for the big save. WNE had started to turn the tide in terms of pressure. Summer Hathaway had a shot in the 75th minute, but Drake stayed strong to make another save. Jordan Paré got in on the action with a shot toward Drake, but Drake also turned her away. The pressure would prove too much, though. Emily Chojnicki would have a helping hand in that again. In the 79th minute, Chojnicki sent a ball into Brynn Murphy, who strode towards the net. After a touch, Murphy fired the ball with her right foot right past Drake into the back of the net for the game's second goal. WNE now led 2-0 with less than 15 minutes left in the game. 

Salve Regina tried to answer it and cut the deficit in half, but shots from Daniewicz and Hudson would not worry McLaughlin. In the 84th minute, Daniewicz put a shot on net, but McLaughlin kept it out of the net. The same happened in the 89th minute when McLaughlin made the final save of the game. WNE still pushed, and Allison Bruehwiler found herself with the ball in the 90th minute. Bruehwiler dribbled past a defender, moved from right to left and right on the edge of the penalty box, and took a tough shot that bent around the keeper and into the back of the net for the third and final goal of the game. WNE won 3-0.

The final stat sheet showed WNE had more shots attempted (18-13), more shots on goal (11-7), and more corner kicks (10-2) than Salve Regina. Salve Regina's GK made one more save than McLaughlin, and the Seahawks were called for more fouls as they were penalized nine times to WNE's eight. 

Inside the Lines:

• The Golden Bears returned home to face Salve Regina, who had the same conference record of 2-1-1.
• Montalvo got the scoring started in the sixth minute with a goal off the assist by Emily Chojnicki.
• Brynn Murphy doubled the Golden Bears' lead in the 79th minute when Chojnicki sent another ball into the penalty box, and Murphy slotted it into the net.
• Allison Bruehwiler finished the Seahawks in the 90th minute with an unassisted goal.
• Molly McLaughlin had seven saves to help WNE get their third shutout in a row.
• WNE beat Salve Regina 3-0.

Up Next on the Schedule:

• WNE will go on the road on Saturday, October 15, as they head to Maine to face the University of New England at noon. 
• Salve Regina will stay on the road as they head out to Dudley, Massachusetts, to take on Nichols College on Saturday, October 15, at 5:30 pm.