BOSTON, Mass. (November 6, 2024) – After beating Gordon College in a penalty kick shootout on Saturday, the Golden Bears traveled to Boston, Massachusetts, for the CNE postseason tournament semifinals against No. 2 Suffolk University. After a scoreless first half, the Rams would find the difference-making goal in the 68th minute to give them the win.

Records:

• No. 3 Western New England: 9-9-4 (5-3-1)
• No. 2 Suffolk University: 10-6-4 (6-1-2)

How it Happened:

The semifinal matchup started with Roger Leland in goal for the Golden Bears and Nathan Harlow opposing Leland in goal for the Rams. The first four minutes of play saw the Rams gain possession and hold on to the momentum early. Matthew Belluardo tested Leland in the 2nd minute, which led to Leland saving it and a corner kick for the Rams after that. They had another shot in the 4th minute before the Golden Bears found their footing. WNE had four of the next six shots. Between the 11th and 15th minutes, WNE had two shots on goal in four total shots, and Suffolk had one shot on goal. Ford Lee made Leland make a save. Then, Shay O'Neill and Matt Spruill made Harlow make two saves. Suffolk countered with five shots in a row. Diego Pierantozzi and Luke Blawn tested Leland in net. That made it four saves in under 19 minutes of play for Leland. The teams went back and forth for a little while until WNE had two shot attempts. One went wide, and the other was a free-kick attempt from Keegan Reim, which Harlow had to save. That is how the first half would continue. Both teams possessed the ball, but WNE moved the ball into Suffolk's defensive area more often and had another shot wide in the 36th minute and a shot blocked in the 38th minute. Suffolk had a major attempt towards the end of the half. In the 40th minute, a throw-in led to a header-shot flying just wide of the net. The Golden Bears countered immediately with a shot blocked by the Suffolk defense for a WNE corner kick. The opportunity was stifled by Suffolk. Then, in the final minute of the opening half, WNE had a shot go wide, and then Adam Saleh sent a shot from outside the penalty box, which had eyes for goal but caught the crossbar and deflected away from the goal. That was the final chance of the first half. The first-half stats saw WNE leading in shots 11-10 and saves 4-3. Suffolk had more shots on goal, 4-3. Both teams had one corner kick and four fouls.

Suffolk started the second half with a corner kick. However, WNE countered and had the first shot of the second half. Including that shot, they had the first eight shots in a row. Five of the shots were within the first ten and a half minutes of the second half. WNE would put pressure on the Rams but could not find a goal quite yet. Three of those first eight shots were on goal. Harlow made each save to keep the Rams tied with the Golden Bears. Suffolk tried to switch the momentum after that. They had a chance go wide in the 66th minute. Then, they had a free-kick chance go over the goal later that minute.WNE answered with pressure. They had a corner kick lead to a shot from Jack Leland saved by Harlow. Then, Suffolk struck the net. Dominic Rinaldi found Luke Blawn in the middle of the WNE defensive zone. Edward Abouzeid got the ball from Rinaldi and fired a shot over the WNE goalie to give Suffolk the 1-0 lead. That quieted the WNE offense for a little while. WNE tried to get back in the game with a shot in the 80th minute, but it went wide of the goal. It was quickly countered in the same minute by a Suffolk shot wide of the net. Suffolk followed that up with another shot wide. Then, WNE had a shot from Keegan Reim saved by Harlow in the 83rd minute. Jacob Dounetos followed that with a high-arching shot that Harlow saved in the 85th minute. Aiden Casinghino then had a shot saved by Harlow in the 86th minute. WNE was committing everything they had to a last-minute goal, but Suffolk was not breaking. WNE had an 87th-minute shot go wide, as well as an 88th-minute shot sail wide of the goal, and that would be the final shot attempt of the season for WNE. Suffolk beat WNE 1-0. The final stats saw WNE leading in shots 26-15 and shots on goal 10-5. Suffolk led in saves 10-4 and fouls 8-7. Both teams had two corner kicks.

Coach's Corner

Head coach of the WNE men's soccer program, Devin O'Neill, was asked for O'Neill's final thoughts on the season. "Good season, proud of the guys. They fought very hard," O'Neill answered.

Inside the Lines:

• The Golden Bears took on Suffolk University in the CNE postseason tournament semifinals.
• The first half saw some major chances but no goals.
• 67:39 – Edward Abouzeid gave the Rams the lead with a goal assisted by Luke Blawn and Dominic Rinaldi.
• Roger Leland made four saves for WNE.
• Nathan Harlow made ten saves to earn the Rams the shutout victory.
• The Rams beat the Golden Bears 1-0.

Up Next on the Schedule:

• The Golden Bears' season ends in the conference postseason tournament semifinals. They end with a final overall record of 9-9-4, with a conference record of 5-3-1.
• The Rams will play on Saturday, November 9, 2024, for the CNE Championship and a place in the NCAA tournament on the line. They will host the number four seed, Roger Williams University, in Boston, Massachusetts, with the time still to be determined.