Golden Bears Rally in Second Half, Defeat Owls 3-1

WESTFIELD, Mass. – Westfield State junior forward Delaney Parker (Orange, Mass.) scored the opening goal of the game, but Western New England rallied for three straight goals, including two in the second half, to down the Owls 3-1 on Wednesday night from Alumni Field in Westfield, Mass.

The Golden Bears snap the Owls three-game winning streak, dropping Westfield to 6-5 overall. Western New England improves to 6-2-2 on the year.

The Owls opened the scoring 17:52 into the match with Kiana Muratsuka (Mililani, Hawaii) lifting a pass from the attacking 45-yard line towards the front of the penalty area where Livie Crooks (Wilbraham, Mass.) settled the pass and dished to Parker. Parker spun past her nearest defender, then laced a shot to the far post and past the diving Molly McLaughlin (Guilford, Conn.) to give Westfield a 1-0 lead.

Western New England generated their first scoring opportunity about five minutes later after a shot from Lindsay Reidy (Chicopee, Mass.) was saved by Kayla Santucci (Agawam, Mass.) with the rebound deflecting to Isabella Montalvo (Rocky Hill, Conn.) who's shot rang off the post and out of play.

In the 25^th minute, the Golden Bears found the equalizer with Julia Frappier (Granby, Mass.) setting up Emma French (Monroe, Conn.) for a rocket of a shot that nicked off the crossbar and into the net to tie the match, 1-1.

With the game tied entering the second half, the Golden Bears took their first lead of the night with WNEU leading goal-scorer Liza Pinette (Acushnet, Mass.) weaving through a multitude of Owls defenders before launching a shot high and past the diving Santucci to put the Golden Bears ahead 2-1.

The Pinette tally proved to be the game-winner as Western New England tacked on an insurance goal off a deflection by Brynn Murphy (Upton, Mass.) off a corner feed by Gabby Sansone (Guilford, Conn.).

Westfield outshot Western New England 23-17 in the contest, but McLaughlin (W, 5-2-2) was sound in net for the Golden Bears, registering 11 saves on the night. Santucci (L, 1-3) also delivered a strong performance in goal for the Owls, recording five saves before turning the remaining 23 minutes of the game over to Sarah Fuller (Weymouth, Mass.) who added two stops.

Westfield State will resume conference action this weekend as the Owls host Framingham State on Saturday at noon from Alumni Field in Westfield, Mass. Western New England will face CCC opponent Roger Williams on the road Friday night at 6:00 P.M.