Chojnicki Nets First Career Goal in 3-1 Win Over Fitchburg State

Fitchburg, Mass. (September 9, 2022) - The Western New England Golden Bears went back on the road after back-to-back home games last weekend to take on the Falcons of Fitchburg State. WNE rolled into Fitchburg with the hope of getting their third straight win and get their record to 3-1 on the season.

Records:

• Western New England: 3-1-0
• Fitchburg State: 1-3-0

How it Happened:

As the first whistle was blown to start the game, the two teams started to feel each other out. WNE started the action with a shot that ended up being blocked. Fitchburg would come right back down the pitch and put a shot of their own on goal, but WNE GK Molly McLaughlin was equal to the task to keep the score 0-0. It would not take long for WNE to get their own shots on net as Isabella Montalvo would make FSU GK Allison Gough make her first save of the night. WNE would then put seven shots on net within the next ten minutes of play. Gough would make every save to keep the Falcons in the game. Fitchburg St. would finally get another shot off in the 23rd minute, but it would not worry McLaughlin. WNE would continue the attack, and after a save by Gough in the 30th minute, Lindsay Reidy would find the ball at her feet and put it in the back of the net for the game's first goal.

WNE's attack would not stop there. The Golden Bears would continue pushing forward and send two more shots on net. WNE would find the net one more time before the half when Ashley Collins would find Emily Chojnicki, who would send the ball past Gough for the first goal of her WNE career. WNE would finish the half with another shot on net and go into the break with a 2-0 advantage. WNE would take most of the shots in the first half outshooting FSU 20 to three, with 11 of those shots being on goal. Fitchburg State would only get one shot on net that McLaughlin saved. WNE would have 12 corners to FSU's zero and had five fouls to Fitchburg's four. 

WNE came out of the half with a similar attacking mindset as they put three shots on net within the first three minutes. However, just a minute later, Fitchburg State's Ashley Porter would get the ball past McLaughlin as Porter netted Fitchburg's first goal of the night and got them back in the game, making the score 2-1 WNE. After the FSU goal, WNE would refocus with a pair of Danielle McCarthy shots on net that Gough was able to save. Sixteen shots by the Golden Bears would follow that. WNE would keep the pressure on Gough, who would not let the Falcons go down by more than one goal. Eventually, the continued pressure would prove too much. In the 81st minute, Samantha Vitka would find Allison Bruehwiler cutting toward the net, and Bruehwiler would send it past Gough and into the back of the net for a 3-1 lead. WNE would continue their pressure, not taking their foot off the gas with a few more shots towards the net. The final whistle would then blow to end the game at 3-1, with WNE being the victors. 

WNE would finish with 47 shots during the 90 minutes of play. They would hold Fitchburg State to seven total shots. The Golden Bears would force Gough to make 24 saves on 27 shots on goal. McLaughlin would save three of the four shots on net. There were a total of 23 corners in the game, all of which were taken by WNE. The Golden Bears pressed with a lot of pressure, and it would pay off as they would leave Fitchburg with the 3-1 win.

Inside the Lines:

• Today's matchup saw WNE win their third game in a row.
• Lindsay Reidy would score her second goal of the year to kick off the scoring.
• Emily Chojnicki would then score her first career goal for WNE to extend the G-Bears lead to two entering halftime.
• Ashley Porter would score for the Falcons to cut the deficit to one goal.
• Allison Bruehwiler would end the scoring when Samantha Vitka found her in the penalty box to put the lead to 3-1
• McLaughlin saved three of four shots put on net by the Falcons.
• WNE had 47 shots during the game and would capitalize on three of the shots, enough to lead them past Fitchburg State with a 3-1 win.

Up Next on the Schedule:

• Western New England will return to Springfield, but stay on the road as they take on their cross-town rivals, Springfield College, on Wednesday, September 14 at 7:00 pm. 
• Fitchburg State will stay home to face another CCC opponent when they take on Nichols on Tuesday, September 13 at 4:00 pm.