Western New England University

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (September 30, 2026) – The Western New England University women's soccer team earned its third straight victory on Wednesday afternoon, defeating Westfield State University, 1-0, at Suprenant Field behind the seventh goal of the season from Sophia Scyocurka on an assist from Emma Forde, proving to be enough to take down the Owls. 

Records:

• Western New England: 5-3-0
• Westfield State: 3-4-3

How It Happened:

First Half:

• Western New England controlled much of the opening half, generating 10 shots while limiting Westfield State to four attempts. Westfield State did have two quick corner kick opportunities, but could not come up with a shot on Ainsley Napolitano, who did not face much action over the 90-minute contest.
• Western New England broke through in the 19^th minute. Emma Forde took a shot that was saved by Westfield State goalkeeper Kayla Santucci, but Sophia Scyocurka followed up with a rebound opportunity and netted her seventh goal of the season, giving the Golden Bears the opening 1-0 lead.
• Westfield's Ava Uhi had the first, and only, shot on goal for the Owls in the opening half, saved by Napolitano. 
• The Golden Bears continued to threaten late in the first half, but Scyocurka's tally held as the only goal in the opening 45 minutes. WNE had the 10-4 shots advantage in the first half overall. 

Second Half:

• The Golden Bears continued to apply pressure after the break, getting the better of the opportunities, including a shot off the crossbar in the 52^nd minute from Liza Pinette. 
• Meghan Hartnett had the next best chance for the Golden Bears, as her corner kick was lofted to the back post, where an Owl defender swept the ball off the line, keeping the Golden Bears to a one-goal lead.
• The Owls had no answer on offense on Wednesday, as the stingy WNE defense held WSU to just two total shots in the second half and none on goal, as the Golden Bears defeated the Owls by a final score of 1-0, the first win for WNE over Westfield State since 2023 after the two teams tied in each of their last two battles. 

Key Performances:

• Sophia Scyocurka scored her team-leading seventh goal of the season, finishing with eight shots and three shots on goal on the afternoon.
• Emma Forde added an assist on Scyocurka's game-winning goal, her second assist of the season
• Liza Pinette and Meghan Hartnett each recorded five shots, while Hartnett put two attempts on goal.
• Ainsley Napolitano made one save to record her second consecutive shutout.
• Western New England finished with a 22-6 advantage in shots and a 7-1 edge in shots on goal.
• The Golden Bears also held a 6-5 advantage in corner kicks.

Up Next:

• The Golden Bears return to Conference of New England action on Saturday, October 3, traveling to the University of New England for a 3:00 PM matchup in Biddeford, Maine.