SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (October 5, 2024) – The Western New England Field Hockey team honored Morgan's Message prior to the start of their game on Saturday afternoon, welcoming the Eagles of Husson University to Golden Bear Stadium. After no scoring in the first half, Western New England would score the first two goals of the game and would fight off the Eagles' comeback in the final minutes of the game, sending the Golden Bears to a 3-2 victory, their fifth straight win.
Records:
- Western New England: 7-4
- Husson University: 5-5
How it Happened:
The Golden Bears would get the better of the play in the opening quarter, grabbing six shots to Husson's two in the first 15 minutes of play.
Mackenna Cooke picked up the first shot of the game, though the Husson defense would stay strong, blocking the shot.
Cooke would get another stab at goal, which would become WNE's first shot on goal and would be denied by the Eagles goalkeeper Maria Levesque. With four minutes to play in the quarter, the Golden Bears would see Husson move in on the attack and put their first shot on goal in the game, as Maddie Perkins would be denied by junior goalkeeper
Ella Henry to keep Husson off the scoreboard. WNE would move the ball down to their offensive end of the field, where Sarah Johnson and
Haley Kaczka would both put opportunities towards goal though would not be able to score. WNE picked up four penalty corners in the first quarter, while Husson had two.
In the second quarter, the Golden Bears saw Husson start out with the majority of the better play as Maddie Arsenault would come away with a shot on goal just over one minute into the second quarter though
Henry would again stand tall for the Golden Bears in net. Off a penalty corner, Husson would find a scoring opportunity as Lauryn Brown would take a shot that would be blocked by the WNE defense to hold the Eagles without a goal. From there, Western New England would dominate much of the offensive attack, picking up four penalty corners and four shots on goal, though no goals for WNE would be had.
Sarah Johnston would pick up two shots on goal in back-to-back sequences, though Maria Levesque would deny the chance. Western New England would outshoot Husson 4-2 in the second quarter, though no goals would be scored in the opening half, with WNE coming away with the better of the opportunities.
The Golden Bears would pick up the majority of the offense in the third quarter, seeing Husson not be able to get to goal, unable to take a shot. Western New England would open the scoring on a penalty corner, the game's first goal.
Paige Remington would insert the ball that would bounce around and eventually find the stick of
Tania Evans.
Evans would slot the ball over to
Haley Kaczka, who fired away an arching shot that sizzled past the Husson defense and goalkeeper into the back of the night to give Western New England a 1-0 lead.
Kaczka would pick up her ninth goal of the season while
Evans grabbed her second career assist to give Western New England field hockey a 1-0 lead. WNE would take five penalty corners in the third quarter and six total shots, while Husson came away with no shots and no penalty corners in the third 15 minutes of play. Western New England would take their 1-0 lead into the final quarter, looking to add insurance goals.
Insurance is exactly what the Golden Bears would get to open the fourth quarter after another set play off a penalty corner would succeed, giving WNE a 2-0 lead.
Amanda Burns would insert a penalty corner, which would go to
Analise Trani, who found the back of the net for the first time on the season to give Western New England a two-goal advantage. Husson would take exception to that, as the Eagles came into action as one of the highest scoring teams on the season. The Eagles would score next, picking up a goal on a set play of their own on a penalty corner when Tessa Capozzoli found the back of the net for the eighth time this season on an assist from Maddie Perkins, cutting Western New England's lead in half. The Golden Bears would respond, finding a goal for the third time in the game after a defensive turnover by the Eagles.
Haley Kaczka would send the ball forward and down the right side of the field for
Mackenna Cooke, who received the ball, turned, and fired the ball into the back of the net for her fourth goal of the season, giving Western New England their two-goal lead back, a 3-1 lead. With less than two minutes remaining in the game, Husson would again score as Maddie Perkins also collected her eighth goal of the season, putting the pressure on WNE to kill off the final 1:58 left in the game. To that, they did, keeping Husson off the scoreboard and holding onto a 3-2 victory over the Eagles for their fifth straight win of the season.
Inside the Lines:
- Three different goal scorers on the afternoon would lift Western New England to a 3-2 victory. Haley Kaczka (8), Analise Trani (1), and Mackenna Cooke (4) would all help Western New England on the offensive end.
- Assists from Tania Evans, Amanda Burns, and Kaczka would set Western New England to their sixth straight win over Husson all-time.
- WNE outshot the Eagles 20-6 in the game and 12-4 on goal. Ella Henry made two saves for Western New England, while her counterpart Maria Levesque picked up nine total saves.
- The Golden Bears had 16 penalty corners in the game, while Husson took seven.
Coaches Corner:
- When asked about the five-game win streak and what is going right over the last five, Head Coach Kyle Lyons praised her team's effort and hopes to continue their winning ways. "I think what's clicking is the connection and trust for one another out on the field. Winning a few games in a row definitely helps our confidence. We need to continue carrying this momentum forward as we have a really important chunk of our season left."
Up Next on the Schedule:
- The Golden Bears travel to Castleton University (7-4)* on Wednesday, October 9 for a 7:00 PM game from Dave Wolk Stadium. WNE is back at Golden Bear Stadium on Saturday, October 12 at 1:00 PM to host their first CNE game, taking on Roger Williams University (7-5, 1-1 CNE).
