Falcons Edged By Golden Bears

Gough breaks single game saves record

Fitchburg, Mass. – The Fitchburg State women's soccer team dropped a 3-1 decision to the Golden Bears of Western New England University this evening in non-conference action from Elliot Field.

The Basics

Score: Fitchburg State 1, Western New England 3

Records: Fitchburg State (1-3-0, 0-0-0 MASCAC) | Western New England (3-1, 0-0 CCC)

How It Happened

Western New England nearly took the lead 15 minutes into the first frame as junior Isabella Montalvo (Rocky Hill, Conn.), graduate student Allison Bruehwiler (Old Saybrook, Conn.) and senior Summer Hathaway (Colchester, Vt.) put shots on target, but Fitchburg State keeper Allison Gough (Wolcott, Conn.) turned aside all three attempts.

The Golden Bears dented the scoreboard at the 29:50 mark with sophomore Lindsay Reidy (Chicopee, Mass.) settled a loose ball in front of the net and fired a shot into the left side for her second tally on the season to make the score 1-0.

Western New England doubled its advantage (2-0) in the 39th minute of action when sophomore Emily Chojnicki (Newington, Conn.) received a feed from junior Ashley Collins (Shelton, Conn.) and buried a shot into the lower left corner for her first goal of the 2022 campaign.

Following the intermission, Fitchburg State cut into the deficit at the 49:49 mark with junior Ashley Porter (Upton, Mass.) collected a rebounded shot off the foot of classmate Patricia Pallotta (Sterling, Mass.) and deposited a shot inside the right post for her first marker on the year to make the score 2-1.

The Golden Bears secured the victory in the 81st minute of action when Bruehwiler connected on her team-leading third goal of the year off an assist from graduate student Samantha Vitka (Stratford, Conn.), resulting in the 3-1 final.

Inside the Numbers

This evening's contest marked the seventh meeting between the two schools on the pitch with the Falcons 2-4-0 all-time when taking on the Golden Bears

Western New England has won the last four matchups with Fitchburg State, including a 5-0 decision last season.

Western New England finished with a 47-7 edge in shots, while also holding a 22-0 edge in corner kicks

Gough stopped 24 shots for the Falcons in the setback

With those 24 saves, Gough broke the Falcons single-game mark of 21 held by Gough and former Falcon keeper Sarah Hemmigs

Junior Molly McLaughlin (Guilford, Conn.) made three saves for the Golden Bears in the victory

Up Next

Falcons return to action on Tuesday as they host the Bison of Nichols College for a non-conference tilt, starting at 4:00 PM. The Golden Bears will visit Springfield College on Wednesday in non-conference action at 7:00 PM.