DANBURY, Conn. - The best season in Western New England College men's soccer history got even better Saturday.

Senior Paul Russo (Dix Hills, NY) scored in the 12th minute and junior Kofi Oteng (Worcester, MA) added an insurance goal in the 51st minute as the Golden Bears blanked host Western Connecticut 2-0 in a first round match of the NCAA Division III Championship. It was the 13th goal of the season for Russo. Oteng netted his third goal with an assist from junior Tim Larocca (East Longmeadow, M).

This was the first ever win for Western New England College in NCAA competition and gave the Golden Bears 20 victories for the first time in the program's 40-year history. Last year WNEC lost to Roger Williams 1-0 in its inaugural appearance in the NCAA Division III Tournament.

No. 13 Western New England College showed its mettle today by bouncing back from a heart-breaking 2-1 overtime loss to Johnson & Wales last Saturday in Springfield in the championship match of the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Tournament.

Western Connecticut (13-5-3) outshot WNEC by a 21-11 margin, but junior goalie Chris Wilk (Derry, NH) came through with a clutch performance making nine saves, including a fantastic stop on a shot by senior Matt Cusack in the 63rd minute.

"The key for us was the start of the match," said Western New England College coach Erin Sullivan. "We were able to contain their best two players (Bradley Fidler and Cusack) and created some scoring opportunities for ourselves. Paul Russo had an incredible individual effort in scoring the first goal for us."

Western New England College (20-2) will meet Union (17-3-1) at 1:00 p.m. Sunday in the second round of the NCAA Division III Tournament in Danbury. The Dutchmen defeated Johnson & Wales 1-0 in overtime in the second match of the afternoon.

For additional NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Championship information, please visit: http://ncaasports.com/soccer/mens