Springfield, Mass. (August 30, 2024) – After their conference championship last season, the Golden Bears opened their 2024 campaign with a win against the Judges of Brandeis University today. Jayden Montagna had the opening goal and assisted with the game-winning goal for WNE. Matt Spruill and Aiden Casinghino also collected goals for the Golden Bears. Those goals led the Golden Bears to their first-ever win over the Judges in program history.

Records:

• Western New England: 1-0-0 (0-0-0)
• Brandeis University: 0-1-0 (0-0-0)

How it Happened:

Braylon Casinghino led the Golden Bears in net to start the season-opener. On the other end of the pitch, Quintin Wrabley was in between the posts for the Judges. The game got started with back-and-forth action from the teams. At the 8:51 mark in the first half, Rainer Osselmann-Chai sent a shot at Casinghino in net. However, it was a routine save for the Golden Bear goalie. More back-and-forth action ensued. However, the Golden Bears were starting to find their shape and impose their style of play on the game. The Judges were able to get a shot off, but it was blocked. At the 17:24 mark, Roger Leland had a shot saved by Wrabley in the middle of the goal. The Golden Bears kept the pressure on with a shot that went over the net. 29:40 into the first half, the Golden Bears saw a major opportunity, which was sparked by Sam Riley dribbling into the offensive side of the pitch for the Golden Bears. Riley dished a pass off, and the ball made its way down to Nick Edward, who was fouled inside the penalty box. That drew a penalty kick, which Jayden Montagna took and scored on. The Golden Bears had a 1-0 lead. Both teams had shots that did not make it to the net after that. Then, at the 38:52 mark, Edward sent a shot to the goalkeeper's left, but Wrabley saved it. The teams would trade the ball back and forth after that until the horn sounded to mark halftime. At half, shots were in favor of the Golden Bears 6-3, and corner kicks were in favor of the Golden Bears 1-0. Both teams had five fouls called against them, and the Judges had two saves compared to one from the Golden Bears. WNE had a 1-0 lead at the half.

The Judges entered half number two with pace and tried to keep the majority of the possession. Elan Romo made Casinghino make a save in the bottom left corner of the goal 1:53 into the second half. The Golden Bears would then add more pressure on the Judges. Three shots did not make it to Wrabley before Jake Thibodeau made the Brandeis goalie make a save in the bottom right corner of the goal. The teams traded shots after that, with none of the shots getting to goal. Then, Jayden Montagna sent a corner over the swarm of players in the middle of the box to Matt Spruill, who slotted home the second goal for the Golden Bears. The score was 2-0 WNE at the 70:36 mark. The Judges did not waver, though. Juan Vera would make Braylon Casinghino make a tough save. The ball bounced up after Joshua Andrews got a foot on it, and Aidan Chuang sent the ball into the back of the net. That made the score 2-1, Golden Bears. That did not phase WNE. They had a shot go wide and kept pressure on the Judges. Possession would stay with Brandeis for the majority of the time after the goal, and Christian Godinho would make Casinghino make another save. However, the Golden Bears would make a push with less than five minutes left in the game. It ended up being Aiden Casinghino, who collected the ball after a Keegan Reim shot that was parried away by the goalkeeper. Aiden Casinghino put the ball back at the net, and it clashed with the back netting to give the Golden Bears the 3-1 lead. The Golden Bears had one more shot go wide after that, but nothing else from either team after that. The final stats showed shots in favor of WNE 17-10, corner kicks in favor of WNE 5-1, and the Golden Bears had more fouls, 10-7. Both goalkeepers made four saves.

After the game, Coach O'Neill and Jayden Montagna were interviewed about the win. "Credit to Brandeis. They moved the ball incredibly well," O'Neill said. "(He is) just very happy with the effort defensively that the guys (WNE) put in."

Montagna was asked about the two-point performance. "Going into today, knowing it was the first game of the season, wanted to get off on the right foot," Montagna said.

The Golden Bears picked up their first win of the season, 3-1.

Inside the Lines:

• The Golden Bears hosted the Judges of Brandeis University at Suprenant Field.
• Jayden Montagna notched the opening goal for the Golden Bears on a penalty kick at the 31:12 mark.
• Matt Spruill doubled the WNE lead with a goal at the 70:36 mark off an assist from Jayden Montagna.
• Aidan Chuang cut the Golden Bear lead to one with a goal at the 72:47 mark for the Judges. Joshua Andrews was credited with the assist.
• Aiden Casignhino gave the Golden Bears the two-goal lead back at the 86:30 mark in the game.
• Quintin Wrabley made four saves and let up three goals.
• Braylon Casinghino made four saves and let up one goal to earn the first win of the season.
• The Golden Bears beat the Judges 3-1.

Up Next on the Schedule:

• WNE will travel to Worcester, Massachusetts, to take on Clark University in their next game on Sunday, September 1, 2024, at 1:00 PM.
• Brandeis will travel home to welcome Suffolk University on Sunday, September 3, 2024, at 1:00 PM.