Wenham, Mass. (September 28, 2024) – WNE traveled to Wenham, Massachusetts, for their second conference game of the 2024 season. The Golden Bears would pick up the conference win on Saturday by notching two goals in the first quarter, one in the second, two in the third, and four in the fourth. Sarah Johnston collected a hat trick of goals. Kayla Suprenant and Tessa Johnston each scored their first career Golden Bear goals in the win.

Records:

• Western New England: 5-4 (2-0)
• Gordon College: 0-9 (0-2)

How it Happened:

The game started with Ella Henry and Allyson Stauffer in net for the Golden Bears and Fighting Scots, respectively. The Golden Bears got to work with a penalty corner in the 2nd minute. It led to Haley Kaczka finding Sarah Johnston on the left side of the net. Johnston made a move and sent the ball into the goal. The Golden Bears led 1-0. The Golden Bears then had a shot saved by Stauffer, two penalty corners, and two more shots saved by Stauffer before Olyvia Whyte fed a pass across the goal in the 5th minute. The pass found Amanda Burns, who doubled the Golden Bear lead. After that goal, the Golden Bears were held scoreless for the rest of the first quarter. WNE took thirteen shots between goal number two and the end of the first quarter. Ten of the shots were saved by Stauffer in goal. The other three shots did not test Stauffer. The Golden Bears also had four penalty corners. However, the Fighting Scots were able to stifle the Golden Bear offense and get out of the first quarter down 2-0. The first quarter stat line showed WNE leading in shots 18-0, shots on goal 15-0, and penalty corners 7-0. The Fighting Scots led in saves 13-0.

The second quarter saw Zoey Wexler enter the game for Ella Henry in goal. The Golden Bears started the quarter with a shot blocked by the Fighting Scots' defense. Then, in the 18th minute. Kameron Marando sent a hard shot at goal. Mackenna Cooke would get a piece of the shot and deflect it into the back of the goal. WNE had a 3-0 lead. That would be the only goal of the quarter for either team. The Fighting Scots and goalie Allyson Stauffer would keep the Golden Bears from scoring again despite many opportunities. The Golden Bears had nine shots during the rest of the second quarter. Five of the shots were saved by Stauffer. One of the shots was saved by the Gordon College defender, Maddie Ellrod. The Golden Bears looked to have a goal-scoring opportunity. However, Ellrod was able to make the save and keep the Gordon deficit at 3-0. The Golden Bears also had four penalty corner opportunities during that time span. However, none of them would lead to a goal, and the first half would end with the Golden Bears leading 3-0. First-half stats saw the Golden Bears leading 29-0 in shots taken, 22-0 in shots on goal, and 11-0 in penalty corners. The Fighting Scots had 19 saves in the first half.

The second half began with the Golden Bears sending more shots at the Gordon College goal. The Golden Bears had three shots saved by Allyson Stauffer within the opening 1:04 of the half. They had a penalty corner and a shot saved by Stauffer in the 34th minute. The Golden Bears earned a penalty stroke in the 34th minute. However, Stauffer made the save. WNE had three more shots saved by Stauffer before Sarah Johnston would have a shot popped into the air. Johnston would bat it out of the air into the goal, and the Golden Bears led 4-0. Gordon College answered with a penalty corner, which led to a shot being blocked by the WNE defense and another penalty corner. The Golden Bears responded with three penalty corners and three shots. The third shot was a goal. After a penalty corner taken by Amanda Burns, Mackenna Cooke passed the ball to Haley Kaczka, who stepped up and sent a quick shot through traffic into the back of the goal. The Golden Bears led 5-0. That would conclude the scoring opportunities for the third quarter. The Golden Bears led in shots 12-1, shots on goal 10-0, and penalty corners 4-2 in the third quarter. The Fighting Scots led in saves 8-0.

The fourth and final quarter saw the Golden Bears extend their lead. It started with a goalie change for the Golden Bears. Alex Tardugno entered the game in net for the Golden Bears. The Golden Bears had a quick penalty corner. They then had four shots saved by Stauffer in a row before earning another penalty stroke. The penalty stroke was taken by Haley Kaczka. Kaczka would score and extend the Golden Bear lead to 6-0 in the 47th minute. The 50th minute saw Sarah Johnston have a shot saved, which deflected into the air and was batted into the goal by Kayla Suprenant. That was Suprenant's first career Golden Bear goal. WNE led 7-0. The 53rd minute saw Sarah Johnston get the ball, make a couple of moves, and slot the shot into the back of the net to give the Golden Bears an 8-0 lead, and it gave Sarah Johnston a hat-trick. The Golden Bears had two more penalty corners and a shot saved by Stauffer after that. Then, in the 55th minute, Tessa Johnston got the ball at the arch, dribbled in past defenders, and sent the ball into the goal. That was Tessa Johnston's first career Golden Bear goal, and it made the Golden Bear lead 9-0. Haylee Briggs entered the game in goal for Gordon College. The Golden Bears had a penalty corner but no shots or goals after that. The game ended with the Golden Bears winning 9-0. The final stat line showed the Golden Bears leading in shots 51-1, shots on goal 42-0, and penalty corners 19-2. The Fighting Scots made 32 saves.

Coach's Corner:

Head coach Kyle Lyons was asked for a comment after the game, as well as how it felt to see everything come together in today's win. "Today was definitely a feel-good win for the team. We got to have everyone get on the field and had many different scorers today. I'm very proud of the consistent effort and output from every player and it's so exciting and meaningful to watch the team celebrate one another the way that this team does. That's what team sports are all about, and I'm very excited for all of them," Lyons replied.

Sarah Johnston was asked how it felt to score the hat-trick today. "It felt good to score after working hard to get balls to net. We were really connected and it felt like a whole team effort cause we all set each other up for success," Johnston answered.

Kayla Suprenant and Tessa Johnston were asked how they feel about scoring their first career Golden Bear goals. Suprenant stated, "It's really, really exciting. I am so thankful to have gotten to share that moment with my family here at WNE. We connected very well on the field today, and I couldn't have done it without all of my teammates. The energy was electric, and I can't wait to see what we will accomplish as we continue the season." Tessa Johnston mentioned that, "It felt really exciting to get on the board for the team. I really appreciate how much support my teammates showed after. It felt good knowing they wanted this for me."

Inside the Lines:

• The Golden Bears jumped back into conference play on Saturday against Gordon College.
• 1:45 – Sarah Johnston scored the game's first goal. Haley Kaczka was credited with the assist. WNE led 1-0.
• 4:38 – Amanda Burns doubled the Golden Bear lead. Olyvia Whyte assisted the goal. WNE led 2-0.
• 17:53 – Mackenna Cooke tripled the lead for WNE off an assist from Kameron Marando. WNE led 3-0.
• 37:00 – Sarah Johnston swatted a second goal into the net. The unassisted goal made the score 4-0, WNE.
• 41:27 – Haley Kaczka made the score 5-0 with a goal assisted by Mackenna Cooke. WNE led 5-0.
• 46:37 – Haley Kaczka scored a penalty stroke goal to extend the Golden Bear lead to 6-0.
• 49:14 – Kayla Suprenant scored a first-career Golden Bear goal off an assist from Sarah Johnston. The Golden Bears lead was 7-0.
• 52:59 – Sarah Johnston netted the third goal of the hat trick unassisted to extend the lead to 8-0, WNE.
• 54:29 – Tessa Johnston scored a first-career Golden Bear goal in the 55th minute of play. The unassisted goal extended the Golden Bear lead to 9-0.
• Allyson Stauffer faced 41 shots and made 32 saves for Gordon College.
• Ella Henry, Zoe Wexler, and Alex Tardugno all kept a clean sheet and earned the Golden Bears the shutout victory.
• The Golden Bears won 9-0.

Up Next on the Schedule:

• The Golden Bears will return home for their next game against Smith College. That game will be on Wednesday, October 2, 2024, at 7:00 PM.
• Gordon will host Plymouth State University in their next game. It will be on Tuesday, October 1, 2024, at 7:00 PM.