SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (September 27, 2025) – The Golden Bears welcomed the Bison to Golden Bear Stadium for their third conference clash of the season. WNE's Mikayla Mrzywka and Haley Kaczka combined for four of the five WNE goals, with Kayla Antonelli picking up the final goal, and WNE defeated the Bison 5-0 on Saturday afternoon.

Records:

• Western New England: 7-3 (3-0)
• Nichols College: 2-8 (0-3)

How it Happened:

• Jessa Altemose would start the contest in goal for the Bison, with Alex Tardugno in goal for WNE on the other end of the field.
• The first quarter started with WNE taking over. They had five shots in the first two and a half minutes.
• The fifth shot was a goal from Haley Kaczka, who got the rebound from Kaczka's previous shot and scored. WNE led 1-0 in the third minute of the game.
• Seventeen seconds later, Kayla Antonelli found Mikayla Mrzywka in front of the goal, and Mrzywka scored her tenth goal of the season.
• WNE had a couple of shots after that, but Nichols would take over the final five minutes of the first quarter.
• The Bison had five corners and five shots to end the quarter. However, WNE's defense stood strong and kept the 2-0 lead after the first quarter ended.
• The second quarter saw WNE go back to pressuring the Bison. They had five shots in a row, with four corners mixed in, as well.
• The final shot of that run was a second goal from Mikayla Mrzywka, assisted by Kameron Marando. WNE led 3-0 in the 26th minute of the contest.
• WNE ended the first half with two more shots and did not let up another Bison shot to take a 3-0 lead into halftime.
• The first half statistics saw WNE leading in shots (16-5), shots on goal (12-2), and penalty corners (6-5). Nichols led 9-2 in saves.
• The third quarter was all WNE once again.
• Shot after shot was saved or blocked, with every penalty corner being defended safely by Nichols.
• WNE had a couple of major opportunities turned away. Katherine Hearn denied Tess Ebreo with a defensive save in the 39th minute, and Analise Trani sent a shot off the right post.
• WNE would not score in the third despite the great chances, and WNE still led 3-0 going into the fourth quarter.
• The fourth quarter followed a similar pattern to the third. WNE sent shot after shot at the goal, with Altemose making saves and the defense blocking multiple shots.
• However, after multiple shots and corner chances, Haley Kaczka scored an unassisted goal in the 57th minute, and WNE led 4-0.
• Then, Kayla Antonelli would score after a shot by Tessa Johnston was blocked. Antonelli's goal in the 60th minute secured a 5-0 WNE win.

Inside the Lines:

• WNE defeated Nichols 5-0.
• Haley Kaczka got the scoring started with a goal in the 3rd minute.
• Mikayla Mrzywka picked up goals in the 3rd and 26th minutes off assists from Kayla Antonelli and Kameron Marando.
• Haley Kaczka scored a second goal of the game in the 57th minute.
• Kayla Antonelli would score WNE's fifth goal in the final minute of the game.
• The final stats favored WNE in shots (35-5), shots on goal (23-2), and penalty corners (17-5). Nichols had more saves (18-2).

Coach's Corner
Haley Kaczka met with the Sports Information Department after the win. Kaczka was asked to take us through the first goal where Kaczka had a shot saved before scoring. "One of our main goals as a team and one of our main focus points has been to execute on our corners. We do a good job of earning them and that is a big opportunity that we can't waste. Keeping it there and getting it in the net is just getting the job done when it needs to get done," Kaczka responded. Kaczka was then asked to talk a little bit about being part of a stellar defense which has three shutouts in three conference games. "Nichols always puts up a good fight. They are a strong team, they are gritty, they're physical, and they're athletic. I think especially our back line, keeping our composure, that was one of our focus points for today under their quick and high press. I think we did a good job of staying calm and sticking to our game."
Kayla Antonelli was then asked about what it meant to be a part of such a strong attack today, which scored five goals. "We work so hard in practice and every single game with our small game possession. We think that we really capitalized on all of our opportunities today. We had a great attack, we were smart knowing when to push it back, and we just played really good today," Antonelli commented. When asked how it felt to get the goal, Antonelli mentioned that, "It felt really good. It was coming from the backfield on the other end, we were able to get it up the field really quickly with our small game and smart passes and it was good that we capitalized on our opportunities."
Coach Meg Collette was asked how it felt to pick up that third conference victory. "It definitely feels great to have another conference victory. Sending us into the back part of our season, it gives us that extra boost that we need to move forward," Collette stated. When asked what it takes to get the win against a tough team like Amherst College, Collette mentioned that, "We're gonna have to play our small game possession and work hard. These girls have been trying to execute our game plans, I think they have been doing a good job about it recently. We definitely earned a lot of corners today but need to start executing on those, so that will be huge for us going into Amherst."

Up Next on the Schedule:

• WNE will stay at home for their first game of October on Wednesday, October 1, 2025, as they host the Mammoths of Amherst College at 7:00 PM.