Field Hockey Downed at Western New England

WESTFIELD, Mass. – Westfield State field hockey suffered a 5-0 defeat against Western New England University in a midweek non-conference clash from Golden Bear Stadium in Springfield, Mass. on Wednesday night.

With neither side finding the back of the net after one quarter, the Golden Bears tallied the first of the night five minutes into the second period off the stick of Tessa Ebero. That would be the lone marker for the first half as Western New England held Westfield without a shot in the opening 30 minutes of action.

In the second half, the Golden Bears increased the pressure on the Owls, firing 11 shots in the frame with two finding the back of the cage. Owls goalie Emma Gniadek (Worcester, Mass.) was busy in net throughout the game, making ten saves in total, six in the third quarter alone to keep the Owls within striking distance.

With the Owls trailing 2-0, one of the team's top scoring chances came with about six minutes left in the third, a pair of shots from Erin Lane (Canton, Mass.) and Kacey Curran (Fall River, Mass.) within five seconds of each other. However, both shots were stopped by Golden Bears keeper Alex Tardungo.

Western New England found a third goal in the waning minutes of the third, then began the fourth with a goal from Kameron Marando 1:30 into the frame to put the game out of reach. The Golden Bears had five different goal scorers in the contest.

Westfield State will look to get back on track in their next game as they visit UMass Dartmouth on Saturday for a noon start.