Springfield, Mass. (September 18, 2021) – The Western New England University men's soccer team took control of the game early and never gave the University of New England a chance to storm any sort of offensive momentum, as the Golden Bears collected two early half goals, followed by a second half marker to take down the Nor'easters 3-0 in the conference opner Saturday afternoon from Suprenant Field. 

Records:

• Western New England: 4-1-1 (1-0 CCC)
• University of New England: 1-5 (0-1 CCC)

How it Happened:
The Golden Bears took momentum of the game in the opening minutes and never gave the Nor'easters a chance at capitalizing as the back line of defense for the Golden Bears did quite the job in shutting down the University of New England's offense. Western New England would score the game's first goal in the 13^thminute when Mike Milazzo would make a finesse backwards to an open Chris Allen who stung the ball into the top middle of the net, past the outstretched reach of GK Triston O'Hagan and into the back of the net, giving the Golden Bears the 1-0 lead. Allen records his second goal of the season for WNE. 

Just minutes later, the Golden Bears saw another chance at goal and again they were able to capitalize on their second goal of the game. Senior captain Matt Remillard sent the ball into the middle of the box which found the foot of Mike Milazzo who then sent a one touch pass to Zach Allard who netted his first of the season in the top middle of the net to give Western New England the early 2-0 advantage. Milazzo picked up his second assist of the game, while Remillard recorded his fourth assist of the season. Goal scorer Zach Allard records his first goal of the season and second as a member of the Golden Bears in his career. 

The Golden Bears would continue to dominate the half, shooting 15 times towards goal, forcing Triston O'Hagan to make seven first half saves. The University of New England came away with just two shots in the first 45 minutes, with one being on target, which was handled by starter Brady Allen for the Golden Bears. WNE took two corner kicks in the first half to just one by UNE. The Golden Bears took nearly 68% of the possession in the first half.

Western New England picked up in the second half right where they started from in the first half, dominating the time of possession, not allowing UNE to get anything going on their offensive front. However, Western New England's offense would be the opposite of slowed down as they were able to cash in with their third goal of the game in the 63^rd minute. 

WNE saw the ball move down the sideline and curve into the box where Chris Allen would find opening between the aggressive goalkeepers' legs and slide the ball to open teammate Jonny Clough, who made no mistake in capitalizing on the wide-open net to give Western New England the 3-0 lead. The sophomore picks up his first collegiate goal of his career with the Golden Bears to extend the lead.  

After a goalkeeping change for both sides, the play would continue to pace as the Golden Bears would continue to shoot, now on Sean McCarthy who made all four saves in his 24 minutes of work for the Nor'easters. Colin Waltsak came in relief of Brady Allen with 13 minutes to play to see action for WNE. The Golden Bears would take down UNE for the 6^th consecutive meeting. The Golden Bears have an all-time record of 15-1-1 against the University of New England.

Inside the Lines:

• Chris Allen (1 G, 1 A) and Mike Milazzo (2 A) led the Golden Bears to victory. Both Allen and Milazzo pick up their first career multi-point showings for Western New England. 
• Western New England out shot UNE 26-3 in the game, while the Nor'easters goaltending tandem of Triston O'Hagan and Sean McCarthy came away with 11 saves on 14 shots on goal by the Golden Bears. GK Brady Allen came away with the two saves in the shutout win. 
• The Golden Bears were whistled for 14 fouls in the contest, seven in each half. UNE was charged with half that number in the 90 minutes of play. 
• Western New England starts CCC play at 1-0 for the second consecutive season after taking down Wentworth Institute of Technology on September 28, 2019, for the conference opener. 

Up Next on the Schedule: 

• The Golden Bears will travel to Western Connecticut State University for a non-conference tilt with the Colonials on Tuesday, September 21 at 6:00 pm. 
• UNE will stay on the road and travel further west as they take on Westfield State University from Alumni Field on Tuesday, September 21 at 7:00 pm.