SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (March 1, 2025) – The Golden Bears dropped their second contest of the season to the Smith College Pioneers 12-10. WNE led 7-4 after the first and 8-7 at halftime. However, the Pioneers would outscore the Golden Bears 5-2 in the second half to win by two. Four Pioneers accumulated all the goals, each with a hat trick.

Records:

• Western New England: 0-2
• Smith College: 1-1

How it Happened:

Ella Henry controlled the draw for WNE to start the game. The Golden Bears saw Mia Celentano drive toward the net and score to give WNE their first goal and first lead of the season 54 seconds into the game. The teams traded turnovers before the Golden Bears would earn a free position attempt, and Celentano took the free position shot. Celentano scored, and WNE led 2-0 2:22 into the first. Just over a minute later, Mia Celntano found Abbey Francis to triple the WNE lead. The Pioneers were then assessed a yellow and a green card, but WNE could not capitalize as Smith's goalie, Brooke Testa, made the save. The teams would trade possession before Caroline Sanders got the Pioneers on the board with 8:26 remaining in the opening quarter. WNE led 3-1. WNE would control the ensuing draw, drive down the field, and Ella Henry would score a free-position goal. WNE led 4-1. Smith battled back with a goal from Layna Fitzgerald, assisted by Sadie Tschider. After a turnover from both teams, WNE was given a yellow card, and Smith capitalized with Jenna Paczkowski scoring, assisted by Sadie Tschider. WNE led 4-3 with 3:40 left in the first. The teams traded possession before WNE was given a free position attempt, and Mia Celentano netted the goal. WNE led 5-3 with 1:55 left in the first. The end of the first was crazy. Smith answered 32 seconds later with a goal from Kyra Hawk. Thirty-three seconds after that, Abbey Francis scored a second goal to give WNE a 6-4 lead. Then, with seven seconds left in the first, Sadye Kowalczyk scored a goal assisted by Julia Weinert to give WNE the 7-4 lead going into the second quarter. The first quarter stats saw WNE leading in shots 12-6, ground balls 6-4, and draw controls 8-4. Both teams had one save and one power-play goal.

The second saw fewer goals, and the Pioneers started to make their comeback. Shannon Houtenville entered at goal for the Pioneers. Ella Henry would earn the draw control. WNE had a couple of shots before a yellow card was shown to Smith. WNE could not capitalize. The teams traded turnovers and a few shots, and Houtenville made a save. The first goal of the second came with 8:20 left in the first half. Mia Celentano found Julia Weinert for the goal. WNE led 8-4. Smith answered 28 seconds later with a Jordan Hoffman goal assisted by Caroline Sanders. Smith was then shown a green card, but WNE could not capitalize once again. Sadie Tschider would cut the WNE lead to two with 5:45 left in the half. Possession went from side to side before Smith cut the WNE lead to one with 2:11 remaining in the contest. Layna Fitzgerald scored the goal off an assist from Sadie Tschider. Neither team would score again for the rest of the half, and at halftime, WNE led 8-7. At the half, WNE had more shots 19-14, more ground balls 10-9, and more draw controls 12-5. Both teams had three saves at the half.

The third saw Smith move ahead shortly before WNE tied the game up. Smith would win the draw before they had a turnover. WNE looked to capitalize, but Houtenville would make a save and start the clear. Smith had a successful clear, which led to Sadie Tschider getting a pass from Jenna Paczkowski and scoring. WNE and Smith were tied 8-8. Smith tried to quickly gain the lead, but an Emily Picolla save kept the score tied. WNE was then shown a yellow and a green card in rapid succession, but Smith could not take advantage of the cards. The teams traded possession before Smith scored with 9:34 remaining in the third to give Smith their first lead of the afternoon. Kyra Hawk received a pass from Sadie Tschider before scoring to give Smith the 9-8 lead. The Golden Bears looked to answer, but Houtenville made a save on another shot, and Smith would take a timeout after a WNE turnover to slow down the game's tempo. They had a shot after the timeout saved by Picolla. Then, Houtenville answered Picolla's save with another big save. The goalies kept trading saves, and the defenses kept causing turnovers. The game went from side to side, with neither team able to get the next goal. That was until Smith was shown a yellow card. Mariella Biceglia capitalized with a goal assisted by Mia Celntano with 14 seconds left in the third to tie the game at 9-9 going into the final quarter of play. The third-quarter stats saw Smith sway the stats in their favor. They had more shots 8-4 and more draws controlled 4-0. WNE had more saves, 5-3, and ground balls, 8-4.

The fourth started with WNE's Celentano controlling the draw. Both teams could not take advantage of their first possessions. Then, WNE struck with a Julia Weinert goal assisted by Ella Henry. They led 10-9 1:52 into the fourth quarter. However, that would be their last goal. Jordan Hoffman would gain control of the next draw, and then WNE was shown a green card. Just after that penalty expired, Smith was shown a yellow card. WNE had a free position shot during that time, but Houtenville made another save. WNE could not get a shot into the net during that penalty. Play moved from one offensive zone to the other, and neither team was able to score. Picolla made a save on a shot almost halfway through the fourth to keep WNE in the lead. WNE would call a timeout shortly after to devise a plan for getting another goal and that much closer to a win. However, they had a turnover after the timeout, and after a few turnovers from both teams, Smith saw a major chance arise, and Sadie Tschider would score. Jenna Paczkowski had the assist. The score was tied 10-10 with 5:59 remaining. Smith kept possession and would score on a free position shot with 4:22 left in the game to go up by one. Smith followed that with a timeout. WNE earned raw control but quickly had a turnover. Then, with 1:57 left in the contest, Caroline Sanders scored an unassisted goal to go up 12-10. The teams traded turnovers as the final seconds drained off the clock, and Smith would earn the win 12-10. The final stats saw Smith lead in shots 29-28. WNE led in ground balls 25-19 and saves 10-7. Both teams had six caused turnovers and 28 turnovers.

Inside the Lines:

• Emily Picolla led the Golden Bears in saves once again, with ten saves.
• Mia Celentano led WNE with three goals and three assists for six total points.
• Melissa Shanteler led the Golden Bears in caused turnovers with three and was tied with Mia Celentano for most ground balls on WNE, with both picking up six.
• Sadie Tschider, Layna Fitzgerald, Kyra Hawk, and Caroline Sanders each scored a hat trick for the Pioneers.
• Sadie Schider led the Pioneers in assists with four and points with seven.
• Shannon Houtenville led the Pioneers in saves with six.
• Smith defeated WNE 12-10.

Up Next on the Schedule:

• The Golden Bears will travel to Keene State College for their next contest on Saturday, March 8, 2025, at 1:00 PM.