SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (September 19, 2026) – The Western New England field hockey team came away with a 3-1 victory over the Hawks of Roger Williams University on Saturday afternoon in Conference of New England action, seeing
Mikayla Mrzywka tally twice, while
Abigail Petrini picked up a pair of assists and
Alex Tardugno made 19 saves in the win.
Records:
- Western New England: 5-1, 2-0 CNE
- Roger Williams University: 5-3, 1-1 CNE
How it Happened:
- Neither team found the back of the cage during the opening 15 minutes, but both offenses created early opportunities. Western New England put three shots on goal, while Roger Williams generated six shots, with Alex Tardugno making four saves to keep the game scoreless. Jenna Nigro and Tania Evans had the best WNE chances early in the contest before Roger Williams took over on offense.
- The Hawks earned three penalty corners in the opening quarter, but Tardugno and the Golden Bear defense kept Roger Williams off the scoreboard.
Second Quarter:
- Western New England broke through for the first goal of the afternoon eight minutes into the second quarter when Mikayla Mrzywka went on an individual effort and roofed a shot underneath the crossbar to give the Golden Bears a 1-0 lead.
- Roger Williams continued to pressure the Golden Bear defense, but Tardugno made four more saves in the second quarter, keeping the score in WNE's favor.
- Back-to-back penalty corners in the final 30 seconds of the half favored the Golden Bears, but a save from RWU's Shae O'Neill and a blocked shot off the stick of Evans kept the Golden Bears ahead by one after 30 minutes of play.
Third Quarter:
- Roger Williams opened the second half with pressure, but Alex Tardugno continued to stand on her head to keep the Hawks off the board, making five saves in all during the third quarter.
- Western New England came away with a goal in the frame when Abigail Petrini fed the ball to the back post, where Tania Evans was able to scoop and score for WNE, giving the Golden Bears the two-goal advantage with five minutes to play in the quarter.
- Roger Williams had chances in the final three minutes, taking four shots in total, but were held scoreless through the opening 45 minutes of the game, seeing WNE hold a 2-0 lead.
Fourth Quarter:
- The quarter began with a pair of chances from Western New England's Kayla Surprenant, who had two shots on goal, though both saved by RWU's Meiili Raspante. Roger Williams took over on offense from there, desperate to find the back of the net in an important conference contest.
- The Hawks cut the deficit in half with 5:17 remaining in the game when McKenzie Foley scored off an assist from Anna Kruggel, making it a 2-1 game. The Hawks took advantage of a penalty corner, their third of the quarter in all.
- Less than a minute and a half later, Western New England was awarded a penalty corner and took advantage of that, seeing Abigail Petrini find Mikayla Mrzywka, who netted an important goal for WNE, giving the Golden Bears a 3-1 lead. Mrzywka picked up her seventh goal of the season.
- Alex Tardugno and the Golden Bear defense held off the Hawks over the final minutes, seeing the Hawks come up with a pair of shots in the final three minutes of play and two penalty corners, but the Blue and Gold came up with a massive 3-1 victory, snapping a five-game losing streak to the Hawks.
Inside the Lines:
- Mikayla Mrzywka scored twice on four shots, finding her sixth and seventh goals of the season to lead the Golden Bears. Mrzywka's two goals marked her second multi-goal performance of the season after she recorded a hat trick against Vermont State University Castleton on September 9.
- Tania Evans recorded her first goal of the season, which ended up being the game-winning goal of the contest. Abigail Petrini picked up two helpers for the Blue and Gold on the afternoon.
- Alex Tardugno made 18 saves, following up on a career-high 24 saves last Wednesday night at Keene State.
- Western New England finished with 12 shots, including 10 on goal, while Roger Williams recorded 26 shots and 20 shots on goal.
Up Next on the Schedule:
- Western New England plays four games in six days, including today's action, and will next be in action on Monday, September 21, at 7:00 PM, hosting Wheaton College at Golden Bear Stadium.
