Box Score SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (October 7, 2025) – Mackenna Cooke's goal late in the third quarter proved to be the difference in Tuesday night's non-conference game against the visiting Spartans of Vermont State University Castleton at Golden Bear Stadium, giving the Golden Bears a 2-1 victory and snapping a brief two-game skid.

Records:

• Western New England: 8-5
• Vermont State University Castleton: 5-6

How it Happened:

First Quarter:

• Western New England had the opening penalty corner of the game but did not find the back of the net six minutes into the game. The second WNE penalty corner did result in a goal, however, as Mikayla Mrzywka found the back of the net for the 12^th time on the season, a team-lead, giving the Golden Bears a 1-0 lead. Haley Kaczka earned the assist on the play, her fifth assists this season. 
• The Golden Bears continued to dominate the quarter, taking the only seven shots of the frame. VTSU Castleton did have one penalty corner in the frame, but the Western New England defense was strong, holding off the Spartans. 
• Western New England had the 4-1 penalty corner advantage in the quarter. 

Second Quarter:

• The Spartans found their offense in the second quarter following a push from Western New England to start, who earned a pair of penalty corners and a shot from Tessa Ebreo that was blocked. From there, Castleton had the next penalty corners and three shots, all of which were blocked, keeping VTSU Castleton off the scoreboard. 
• WNE took over the offense from there, putting three shots on goal but Castleton's Zoe Martin was up to the task, keeping the Golden Bears from scoring. With under a minute remaining in the half, Castleton moved up the field and found their first goal of the game after Alex Tardugno made a save, Castleton's Gwyn Vincent roofed a shot on a rebound chance, evening the score at one at half. 
• Both teams took five shots in the frame, WNE putting three on goal, VTSU Castleton putting two on goal. Both teams earned their fair share of penalty corners, WNE five and Castleton four. 

Third Quarter:

• Western New England took over much of the offensive attack in the third quarter, leading to a late goal to retake their lead. In the beginning of the quarter, it would be the Castleton defense to slow the WNE attack while Martin made two early saves for the Spartans. 
• Castleton's lone shot of the quarter came seven minutes into the frame when the Spartans were awarded a penalty corner that led to a shot from Vincent, which came up wide. The Golden Bears took total control of the third quarter from there. 
• Following an opportunity on a penalty corner, Western New England's Mackenna Cooke chased down a chance and made an individual effort to find the back of the net for the first time this season, giving the Golden Bears a 2-1 lead with less than two minutes to play in the quarter, ending the third quarter with a one-goal lead for WNE. 
• WNE outshot Castleton 9-1 and had five of the six third quarter penalty corners. 

Fourth Quarter:

• WNE opened the quarter with a penalty corner that resulted in a shot from Haley Kaczka, but it was denied by Zoe Martin. Castleton responded three minutes later with a shot on goal, as Gwyn Vincent continued to provide the offense for the Spartans, but Alex Tardugno denied the chance, to keep Western New England ahead 2-1.
• WNE looked to tack on a late goal to put the game away, but Castleton's defense held strong. The Golden Bears matched that intensity on their own end, keeping the Spartans off the board to maintain the lead. 
• Neither side generated a chance in the final three minutes, as Western New England closed out a 2-1 win over Castleton — avenging last season's road loss to the Spartans and snapping a brief two-game skid.

Inside the Lines:

• Mikayla Mrzywka and Mackenna Cooke scored the goals for Western New England to lead the team to victory.
• The Golden Bears outshot VTSU Castleton 24-7 overall, putting 13 shots on goal to the Spartans' three.
• Western New England earned 15 penalty corners, while Castleton finished with six.
• Alex Tardugno made two saves in the win for the Golden Bears, while Castleton's Zoe Martin stopped 11 shots.

Coach's Corner:

Mackenna Cooke met with the media after Tuesday's game-winning goal. Cooke was asked to take us through the play and what the feeling was when the ball went past the goalie. "I felt a lot of room coming down the right sideline and didn't really see any options forward, so I took a step to the left and then found the goal. It's a great feeling, just knowing that once we got that goal, we could protect that lead, and we had the game," Cooke responded. Cooke was then asked, as a whole, what it took to secure the win, and when the final whistle blew, how it felt to achieve it. Cooke answered, "I think it took a lot of mental toughness. We endured a lot throughout the game with some plays against us, and we really stuck together as a team, reconnected at halftime, and went out there and won the game. I think it was a great team win, and we were all part of every single play."

Head coach Kyle Lyons met with the media for the first time since returning to the field. Lyons was asked what were some of the good things and some of the things that you think the team needs to work on based on that game. "I think the best thing was how we responded after halftime, like Mackenna (Cooke) said. Just coming together as a team and having some frustration in the first half, but really being able to table that, move forward, and play as a team. I think we really reconnected and played more together between the lines and just created more attack. I think we dominated the second half for sure, too. Something I loved too was different people stepping up at different moments. I feel like three people would get beat, and then a back would come up huge or a mid would come up huge. I think that ability to really play together between the lines and have each other's back out there was great. One thing I think we need to do better is just a little more gamesmanship in terms of taking our restarts quicker when (the opposing team) is not set up and trying to do things to help our game out. Also, wasting time when we have a lead. Little gamesmanship pieces for sure will help us have more of an advantage," Lyons emphasized. Lyons was then asked what her first win as a mom means to her. Lyons stated, "I think he is here somewhere. I'm just excited to get my hands on him. It feels really good to get the win and be a mom."

Up Next on the Schedule:

• Western New England heads to the University of New England on Saturday, October 11 at 1:00 PM for an important Conference of New England matchup.