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Western New England University

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Field Hockey 9.25
0
Springfield SC (3-5, 0-1)
3
Winner Western New Eng. WNE (4-4, 0-1)
Springfield SC
(3-5, 0-1)
0
Final
3
Western New Eng. WNE
(4-4, 0-1)
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Springfield SC 0 0 0 0 0
Western New Eng. WNE 1 1 1 0 3

Game Recap: Field Hockey |

WNE Blanks Springfield College, Wins the Springfield Showdown 3-0

Springfield, Mass. (September 25, 2024) – The Golden Bears returned to Springfield for a cross-town showdown with the Springfield College Pride. The Golden Bears would jump out to a 2-0 lead with a goal in each of the first two quarters. Olyvia Whyte would find a goal in the third quarter, and that would give the Golden Bears a 3-0 lead that they would hold for the rest of the game to claim the win over Springfield College.

Records:

  • Western New England: 4-4 (1-0)
  • Springfield College: 3-5 (0-1)

How it Happened:

The game began with Ella Henry in net for the Golden Bears and Neilee Hess in goal for the Springfield College Pride. Springfield started quickly with a penalty corner and a shot which was blocked in the 4th minute. Then, the Golden Bears swung the momentum in their favor. They had three shots in a row. Two of the shots were from Kara Edwards. Hess made both saves. That led to two penalty corners, which led to a shot being blocked and a goal from Mackenna Cooke. The ball was sent in on goal after the penalty corner. It was knocked down and it got moved around until Cooke was able to send it into the back of the net. The Golden Bears led 1-0 in the 10th minute of play. Both teams had one more shot each before the end of the first quarter. The stat line after the first quarter showed the Golden Bears leading in shots 6-2, shots on goal 3-0, and penalty corners 2-1. The Pride led in saves 2-0. WNE led Springfield College 1-0 after the first quarter.

The second quarter saw the Golden Bears control the action from the beginning. They had a penalty corner in the 21st minute. That led to a shot being saved by the Springfield defender, Claire Munkacsi. The Golden Bears had two corners shortly after that. Then, a shot was saved by Hess. Haley Kaczka had that shot on goal in the 24th minute. WNE had another penalty corner in the same minute lead to another Kaczka shot, which was saved. The Golden Bears had another penalty corner. However, it did not lead to a shot. The 28th minute saw Springfield earn a penalty corner and have a shot blocked by the WNE defense. On the other end of the field, Sarah Johnston received a pass in the middle of the WNE attacking zone. Johnston dribbled and sent a shot, which flew into the back of the goal. The Golden Bears led 2-0, and that is how it would stand at halftime. The stat line for the first half saw the Golden Bears ahead in shots 10-3, shots on goal 7-0, and penalty corners 7-2. The Pride led in saves 5-0.

After the ten-minute halftime break, the Golden Bears picked up right where they left off. The 33rd minute saw two penalty corners with a shot blocked in between the two. The 34th minute saw a shot from Olivia White saved by the defender, Nicolette Morlock. The ball found Johnston, who sent the ball across the face of the goal to Olyvia Whyte, who deflected it into the goal. The Golden Bears led 3-0. The Golden Bears would not take their foot off the gas. They had two more penalty corners and two more shots after that. Hess had to make a save on Johnston. At the end of the third quarter, the Pride took two penalty corners, which led to a shot blocked by the WNE defense. Then, they had a corner and two shots after the horn. Ella Henry had to make a save to keep the WNE lead at three going into the fourth and final quarter. The stat line for the third quarter saw the Golden Bears lead in shots 5-3, shots on goal 3-1, and penalty corners 4-3. The Pride led in saves 2-1. The Golden Bears held a 3-0 lead.

The fourth quarter saw the Golden Bears with all of the opportunities. They had a penalty corner in the 52nd minute, which led to two shots. Neither tested Hess. They had another penalty corner in the 56th minute. It led to two shots on goal. Both were saved by Hess. The 57th minute saw the Golden Bears take their final penalty corner of the evening. It led to a shot saved by Hess and then a shot going wide of the goal. The final horn sounded a few minutes later, and the Golden Bears claimed their fourth win of the season. The final stat line saw the Golden Bears with more shots 21-6, shots on goal 13-1, and penalty corners 14-5. The Pride had more saves, 8-1.

Coach's Corner:

Head coach Kyle Lyons was asked about the win and the difference between the three games they dropped in a row and the two games they have now won in a row. "I feel like the preparation and the connection was huge today, and that's what allowed us to be so successful. It wasn't relying on one person. It was definitely a team game. It was picking up each other's slack and having each other's backs out there, and it was super connected. That was the message I got from the team after the game. It was a full 60 minutes of our connected hockey. That's probably the first game we have felt like that," Lyons answered. "We had a tough schedule to start the season on purpose and to prepare us for some of these upcoming games and to be ready for it, and so I think it has paid off, and that (game) felt really good."

Sarah Johnston, who had a goal and an assist in the win, was asked about Johnston's performance as well as the team's performance. "I think the team performance as a whole was we were so connected the whole time," Johnston mentioned. When mentioning Johnston's performance, Johnston noted, "I couldn't have done it without the team's effort. They were setting us up for success, I was setting them up for success, and I think, as a whole, we played well together."

Lyons was then asked for thoughts about the upcoming conference game. "I think (this game) is good momentum for us going into another conference game. It's good to have these midweek games that are out of conference. Springfield's obviously a big rival, so the girls get really excited for that, and just having that momentum with a comfortable win feels really good going into Gordon, and hopefully we gotta show up the same way that we did today," Lyons remarked.

Inside the Lines:

  • The Golden Bears hosted Springfield College on Wednesday evening.
  • 9:21 – Mackenna Cooke scored the Golden Bears' first goal. The unassisted goal made the score 1-0 Golden Bears.
  • 28:30 – Sarah Johnston doubled the Golden Bear lead with an unassisted goal. The Golden Bears led 2-0.
  • 33:08 – Olyvia Whyte scored on an assist from Sarah Johnston. The Golden Bears led 3-0.
  • Neilee Hess made eight saves and let up three goals.
  • Ella Henry made one save and one assist to earn the shutout win for the Golden Bears.
  • WNE beat Springfield College 3-0.

Up Next on the Schedule:

  • The Golden Bears will return to conference play for their next game. They travel to Wenham, Massachusetts, on Saturday, September 28, 2024, at 3:00 PM to compete against Gordon College.
  • The Pride will travel to MIT for a NEWMAC matchup on Saturday, September 28, 2024, at 1:00 PM.
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