Babson Park, Mass. (September 14, 2024) – The Golden Bears traveled to eastern Massachusetts for their matchup with the Babson College Beavers on Saturday afternoon. Neither team could find a goal in the first 86 minutes of the game. However, in the 87th minute, Alexander Yablonovskiy found the back of the goal, and the Golden Bears fell to Babson College 1-0.

Records:

• Western New England: 2-3-2 (0-0-0)
• Babson College: 2-0-3 (0-0-0)

How it Happened:

The Golden Bears started Braylon Casinghino in net for the afternoon matchup. The Babson College Beavers started Walker White in goal. The Beavers would pressure the Golden Bears early. They had a shot go wide in the 2nd minute. Then, another shot went wide in the 8th minute. The Golden Bears flipped the field and had a shot in the 11th minute whistle wide of the net. The Beavers would continue to gain momentum after that lone shot from the Golden Bears. They had a shot blocked in the 12th minute, leading to a corner kick. That corner kick found Alexander Yablonovskiy, who sent a header shot at Casinghino, who made the save in the 13th minute. The Beavers and Golden Bears traded shots in the 21st and 22nd minutes. Neither shot would get on goal. Then, a shot from James Donaldson was saved by Casinghino in the 23rd minute. The 25th minute saw a shot from each team miss the goal.

The teams would resume back-and-forth action after those shots, with neither team able to find a shot. Babson found an opportunity in the 34th minute when they had a corner kick. However, it did not result in a shot. The 37th minute saw a shot from Babson whistle wide of the net. Then, in the 38th minute, the Golden Bear defense was able to block a Babson shot before it tested Casinghino. The Golden Bears would have a late opportunity stopped because of an offside call, and the teams would finish out the first half without another opportunity. The score at halftime was 0-0. The stats favored Babson College mostly. Babson led in shots 9-3, shots on goal 2-0, and corner kicks 2-1. Both teams had five fouls at halftime, and the Golden Bears led 2-0 in saves made.

The second half began with more Babson College pressure. The first five minutes of the second half saw Babson take two corner kicks, and Joao Araujo send a shot at Casinghino, which was saved. Babson had a lot of the momentum and just kept finding ways to pressure the Golden Bears. After trading possession for a few minutes, Alexander Yablonovskiy tested Casinghino once again. Casinghino was up for the test and made the save in the 58th minute. The teams kept playing back and forth for a little while after that. Babson would have a few corners, and the Golden Bears would earn one as well. However, none of the corner kicks led to a shot or a goal. Then, in the 72nd minute, a Babson corner kick led to a shot, which was sent wide of the net. The 74th minute saw the Golden Bears test Walker White for the first time. Nick Adzima had the shot. However, it was saved by the Babson goalkeeper. The teams battled for a while. The game became a game of chess with multiple substitutions for each team on the hot Saturday afternoon. Neither team could make a move that the other did not have an answer to. However, Babson kept the pressure on the Golden Bears. Babson had a shot go wide in the 81st minute. Then, they had a shot saved by Casinghino in the 83rd minute. Nate Rouette tested Casinghino on that shot. A corner kick in the 85th minute led to Liam Goldstein sending two shots at Casinghino, which were both saved.

Then, in the 87th minute, the Babson pressure finally broke through. Alexander Yablonovskiy got a pass from James Modiano and sent a shot, which went past the Golden Bear goalkeeper and crashed into the back of the net. The Beavers led the Golden Bears 1-0. The Golden Bears could not find an answer in the final 3:26 of game time, and after a shot from James Donaldson went wide of the net, the game ended. The Golden Bears lost 1-0. The final stats saw Babson College leading in shots 18-4, shots on goal 8-1, corner kicks 11-3, and fouls 8-6. The Golden Bears led in saves 7-1.

Coach's Corner

After the game, coach O'Neill was asked what O'Neill thought the Golden Bears did well today and what O'Neill thought needed to be improved upon. "I thought our guys competed really hard against an excellent team today. We defended very well for long stretches," O'Neill stated. "We will continue to work at creating more quality attacking opportunities as we move forward."

Inside the Lines:

• The Golden Bears visited Babson College on Saturday.
• The game was scoreless at the halftime break.
• Alexander Yablonovskiy netted the game's only goal in the 87th minute. James Modiano was credited with the assist. The Beavers led 1-0.
• Braylon Casinghino made seven saves and let up one goal.
• Walker White made one save and did not let up a goal to earn the shutout win.
• The Golden Bears lost the game to Babson College 1-0.

Up Next on the Schedule:

• WNE will return home this week to host Western Connecticut State University on Wednesday, September 18, 2024, at 4:00 PM.
• Babson College will host Roger Williams University on Tuesday, September 17, 2024, at 4:00 PM.