Springfield, Mass. (September 3, 2024) – The Golden Bears welcomed the Cardinals of Wesleyan University to campus for a midweek non-conference matchup. The Golden Bears were coming off a 1-0-1 start to the season, and it was game one of the season for the Cardinals. The teams were scoreless at the half. However, the Cardinals were able to send a shot past the WNE defense and goalkeeper off a corner kick to win the game 1-0.

Records:

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

How it Happened:

The Golden Bears and Cardinals faced off in Springfield, Massachusetts on Tuesday. Braylon Casinghino was the goalkeeper for WNE, and Mathis Blanc was in goal for Wesleyan. After the Golden Bears kicked the game off, there was some back-and-forth action before Mike Milazzo had the game's first shot, but it was wide of the net. Wesleyan settled into the game and started to find a rhythm. They had four shots in a row within the next twelve minutes. They controlled a good amount of the possession and tried to wear the Golden Bears down. However, the Golden Bears would fight forward and have some opportunities down the field that would not quite work out. The 28th minute saw Keegan Reim with an opportunity. However, the ball sailed over and to the right of the Wesleyan goal. The 32nd minute saw the Cardinals get another shot off. Chris Porte sent the ball wide left of Casinghino and the goal. With the Cardinals maintaining a lot of the possession towards the end of the first half, the Golden Bears stayed strong. Yousuf Saeed had two shots within the final five and a half minutes in the first half. However, the Golden Bear defense did a good job of forcing the ball away from the goal and blocking the final shot. At the half, the score was even at zero. The Cardinals led in shots 7-2, corner kicks 4-0, and fouls 5-4. Neither goalkeeper had to make a save in the opening half.

The second half began with a Wesleyan kickoff. Again, it was the Golden Bears with the first shot of the half. This time, it was Jake Thibodeau with the shot. However, it was blocked before getting to the goal. The 49th minute saw the first shot on goal for either team. Will Martin sent a ball towards the net, which Casinghino saved. The 51st and 52nd minutes saw two shots that did not make it to the net for Wesleyan. One was blocked, and the other went wide. That was followed by a third shot that went wide for the Cardinals in the 56th minute. Connor Knowlton had a shot blocked in the 59th minute. Wesleyan University was increasing the pressure on the Golden Bears and had two shots saved by Casinghino in the 62nd and 67th minutes. The second shot led to a corner kick. The kick was taken by Joshwin Jennings and sent bouncing through the traffic in front of the goal to Zach Feldman, who sent a shot curling away from Casinghino's diving hands into the back of the net. The Cardinals led 1-0 after that goal. The Cardinals would not let up on the pressure with a shot in the 72nd minute, which was blocked. However, the Golden Bears would answer with their first shot on goal of the game. Keegan Reim sent a shot to the middle of the goal that Blanc had to save. Reim sent another shot at Blanc in the 80th minute, which was saved. The Golden Bears were gaining more of the possession and hoping to find the equalizing goal.

Shay O'Neill sent a shot high and wide right of the net. Then, O'Neill had a shot blocked out of bounds for a corner. The Cardinals would answer with a shot on goal, which Casinghino had to save in the bottom right-hand corner. Tyler Lewis would go for goal for the Golden Bears in the 86th minute. However, that would be the final shot of the game, and the Golden Bears would fall 1-0 to the Cardinals. The Cardinals led the stat sheet in shots 16-9, shots on goal 5-2, corner kicks 7-5, and fouls 13-9. The Golden Bears had more saves, 4-2.

Devin O'Neill, the head coach for the Golden Bears men's soccer team, was asked to comment on the game afterward. "Wesleyan is an excellent team. (I am) really glad that we took on this challenge because I think we learned a lot. We saw an opponent that was playing at a very high level, and so there will be some lessons that I think will serve us well further down the season," O'Neill stated. "Our kids really tried hard, and that's always square one, so that's great, but all credit to Wesleyan. (Wesleyan is an) incredibly impressive opponent and (the game) just is a good learning experience for us. I think it's going to pay dividends down the road."

Inside the Lines:

• The Golden Bears played host to the Cardinals of Wesleyan University on Tuesday evening.
• The score at half remained 0-0 through a tough battle.
• Zach Feldman scored after a corner kick from Joshwin Jennings in the 67th minute. The Cardinals led 1-0.
• Braylon Casinghino had four saves and let in one goal.
• Mathis Blanc had two saves to earn the shutout victory for the Cardinals.
• The Cardinals beat the Golden Bears 1-0.

Up Next on the Schedule:

• WNE will stay at home for their next game against the Owls of Westfield State University. That game will be on Friday, September 6, 2024, at 4:30 PM.
• Wesleyan will travel home for their first home game of the season on Saturday, September 7, 2024, at 3:00 PM. They will host the Beavers of Babson College in that match.