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Lanzillo shoots the ball
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Clark (MA) CLARK (1-0-1, 0-0-0)
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Western New Eng. WNE (0-0-2, 0-0-0)
Clark (MA) CLARK
(1-0-1, 0-0-0)
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Final
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Western New Eng. WNE
(0-0-2, 0-0-0)
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Clark (MA) CLARK 0 1 1
Western New Eng. WNE 1 0 1

Game Recap: Men's Soccer |

Spruill's First Half Goal Not Enough as Golden Bears, Cougars Draw 1-1

Springfield, Mass. (September 3, 2023) - The Men's Soccer team returned home from their 0-0 draw with Brandeis for their home opener against the Cougars of Clark University. The Golden Bears would strike early, but it would not be enough to grab the win as Clark grabbed a goal in the second half, and the game ended in a 1-1 tie.

Records:

  • Western New England: 0-0-2 (0-0-0)
  • Clark University: 1-0-1 (0-0-0)

How it Happened:

The first-year goalkeeper Braylon Casinghino was back in net today for the Golden Bears. Andrew DiStefano from Clark University stood across from Casinghino in the other net. At 2:00 PM, the home opener for the Golden Bears was underway, and Clark's quick shot got the game going. That was followed by two shots by Tyler Manley of Clark. None of those shots were on Casinghino, but then Zachary Kratz sent the ball to the bottom right of Casinghino. It made Casinghino move, but he made the save and kept the score tied. The third minute saw even more fireworks, with William Lopez getting two shots on Casinghino, but both were taken care of by the WNE goalkeeper. The Cougars kept the pressure on for the first 15 minutes of play, but WNE would settle in behind the great play of Casinghino and start to make their moves. It started with a Mike Milazzo shot that DiStefano had to save. Then, Shay O'Neill got a shot off, but it sailed high and wide of the net. In the 26th minute, the Golden Bears' surge and momentum pushed them ahead of WNE. Roger Leland would send a pass over Matt Spruill, ready in the penalty box, and hammered home the season's opening goal for the Golden Bears. 

That did not scare the Cougars, though. They got back to action and got a quick shot off, but not on net. Then, after constant pressure, an attacking Cougar was taken down in the box, leading to a Clark penalty kick. Manley lined up and sent a rocket to the left side of the goal, Casinghino's right, and Casinghino made a dive that side and extended an arm to slap the ball away from the net and keep the Golden Bears ahead by one. There were only six minutes after that massive save by Casinghino. Both sides kept the ball out of the goals, and it was halftime. After one half of play, Clark had 13 shots with four on goal, and WNE had four shots with one on goal. Clark had four corners to Western New England's one. Clark had more fouls, as well, as they had seven to the WNE's five. The score was 1-0, with WNE in the lead at halftime.

The second half started, and Milazzo got on the stat sheet first with a shot pushed left of the goal. The Cougars would then pick up five shots over the following 20 minutes of play, with two shots on goal that Casinghino handled. Western New England had one in that time, but DiStefano was not tested. Clark kept the pressure from the first half going and would eventually be rewarded. After a pass from Lopez that met Mauro Perez Colon on the right side of the net, Perez Colon sent a low shot at the right corner of the goal, and it squeaked past Casinghino to tie up the game at 1-1 in the 67th minute of play. The game would go back to a back-and-forth style of play, with the Golden Bears getting a shot off but not on net. The 83rd minute saw a red card shown to a Clark University player, and the Golden Bears would be a player up for the remainder of the game. The Golden Bears would get two shots off before the end of the game with one of them being on net from Brennan Johnson. However, nothing got through, and the Golden Bears picked up their second tie of the season. The final stats told the game's story, with Clark having 19 shots to WNE's 10. Clark had seven shots on target, and WNE had three. Casinghino picked up six saves in his first home game as a Golden Bear. DiStefano made two saves. The game ended in a draw.

Inside the Lines:

  • The Golden Bears welcomed in the Clark University Cougars.
  • Matt Spruill picked up the first WNE goal of the season in the 26th minute.
  • Braylon Casinghino made a penalty kick save in the 40th minute of play to keep the score 1-0.
  • Mauro Perez Colon picked up goal number one on the season in the 67th minute to make it 1-1.
  • The game ended at 1-1, with Casinghino making six saves and DiStefano making two.

Up Next on the Schedule:

  • WNE will hit the road and head to Schenectady, N.Y., for a Wednesday evening matchup with Union College. That game will be on September 6 at 6:00 PM.
  • Clark will stay on the road and play another CCC member school when they head to Boston to play the Wentworth Institute of Technology on Wednesday, September 6, at 6:00 PM.

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