Springfield, Mass. (September 11, 2024) – The Golden Bears hosted the Garnet Chargers of Union College in a non-conference midweek matchup on Wednesday. The Garnet Chargers were the first to strike, with a free-kick goal scored by Alex Borkland. Keegan Reim would score similarly in the second half to tie the game for the Golden Bears. The game ended that way, with a 1-1 draw.

Records:

• Western New England: 2-2-2 (0-0-0)
• Union College: 2-2-1 (0-0-0)

How it Happened:

The game began with Braylon Casinghino in goal for the Golden Bears and Jackson Magee in goal for the Garnet Chargers. The Garnet Chargers started fast. They had the kick-off, and in the second minute, Alexander Vittal sent a shot at the bottom-left corner of the goal. It was saved by Casinghino. The teams would go back and forth for the next several minutes. Both teams created turnovers to halt opposing opportunities. In the 13th minute, Alex Borkland sent a shot at Casinghino, which was saved in the center of the net. The Golden Bears started to find some momentum, and that led to a shot in the 14th minute from Mike Milazzo, which was saved by Magee. It also led to Shay O'Neill sending a shot at Magee after a WNE corner kick, which was saved. The Golden Bears had another shot a little over a minute later, but it went wide. The Garnet Chargers would swing the momentum back with two shots on goal in the 22nd minute. Both shots were saved by Casinghino. However, in the 27th minute, the Garnet Chargers were given a free kick on the right side, just outside the penalty box. In the 28th minute, Alex Borkland took the free kick and sent a curling shot, which curled around the wall of players in front and crashed into the top right corner of the Golden Bear net. The Garnet Chargers led 1-0.

The Golden Bears flipped the script with a shot in the 32nd minute from Jacob Dounetos, which was saved by Magee. Then, Nick Edward sent a shot at goal, which ricocheted off the crossbar in the same minute of play. Jack Leland had a shot saved in the 34th minute by Jackson Magee. The teams would go back and forth with possession of the ball. Neither team could find an opening in the other team's defense. Then, in the 45th and final minute of the first half, Owen Dieterle sent a shot at the bottom left corner of the net. Magee would make the save and send the game to halftime. At the half, the Golden Bears led in shots 7-5, corner kicks 4-1, and fouls 7-4. The Garnet Chargers had more saves, 5-4. Both teams had five shots on goal in the first half. The Garnet Chargers led the Golden Bears 1-0.

The Golden Bears kicked off the second half. They had a shot blocked in the 48th minute, and another shot went wide of the net in the 53rd minute. The Golden Bears were trying to control the possession and tempo of the game early in the second half. That led to a 60th-minute shot, which was blocked. The teams were trading the ball back and forth, but the Golden Bears looked to be gaining momentum when they had possession of the ball. Then, in the 67th minute of play, the Golden Bears were given a free kick on the edge of the penalty box. In the 68th minute, Keegan Reim took a shot from that spot, just left of the center of goal. Reim's shot stayed on the ground and tried to curl around the defenders. It took a slight deflection, but the velocity of the ball kept it spinning fast into the bottom right corner of the goal. The Golden Bears were level with the Garnet Chargers, 1-1. The Golden Bears did not stop moving the ball toward the goal. They had a shot blocked in the 71st minute. Then, a shot went wide of the net in the 72nd minute. The Garnet Chargers had a shot in between those two, but it was blocked.

Reim then had a shot saved in the bottom right corner of the goal by Magee. The Golden Bears had two more shots within the next minute of play. However, the first was blocked, and the second sailed wide of the net. The game saw more back-and-forth action, with the Garnet Chargers starting to slow down the Golden Bears' momentum. Then, in the 85th minute, the Golden Bear pressure got started again. Tyler Lewis had a quick shot saved by Magee in the top right corner of the goal. Then, the Golden Bears had three shots in a row. However, none of them were on goal. The final shot of the game was in the 89th minute when the Golden Bears had an opportunity on the right side of the goal, but the shot went over the goal. The game ended with the teams tied 1-1. The final stat line saw the Golden Bears leading in shots 21-6, shots on goal 8-5, corner kicks 7-2, and fouls 18-15. The Garnet Chargers had more saves, 7-4.

Coach's Corner:

After the game, Coach O'Neill was asked what O'Neill attributed the men's soccer team's rally to. "(The WNE men's soccer team) is a tough group. They compete," O'Neill stated. O'Neill then talked about what he thought of the WNE performance. "I want to be respectful to Union. I thought they played a very good game, but for the first time this year, I am critical of our approach. We weren't firing on all cylinders." O'Neill was then asked how the team fixes the mentality for the upcoming game on the road. "Sometimes it is easiest to get on a bus and go somewhere because it's a ritual, and you are locked in, and you know what you are going for," O'Neill stated.

Inside the Lines:

• The Golden Bears took on the Union College Garnet Chargers on Wednesday.
• Alex Borkland lit up the scoreboard for the Garnet Chargers with a free-kick goal in the 28th minute of play. The Garnet Chargers led 1-0.
• Keegan Reim equalized the game in the 68th minute with a free-kick goal. The score was tied 1-1.
• Jackson Magee made seven saves and only let up one goal.
• Braylon Casinghino made four saves and only let up one goal.
• The Golden Bears and Garnet Chargers tied 1-1.

Up Next on the Schedule:

• WNE will travel to Babson Park, Massachusetts, on Saturday, September 14, at noon. They will take on the Babson College Beavers.
• The Garnet Chargers will return home to host SUNY Plattsburgh on Saturday, September 14, at 2:00 PM.