DANBURY, Conn. —
Olga Mayen (Brookfield, Conn.) netted her first career goal as the Western Connecticut State University women's soccer team took down the visiting St. Joseph's University (LI) Golden Eagles, 2-0, on Tuesday at Westside Stadium. WestConn improved to 9-5-2 on the season, while SJLI dropped to 8-3-2 overall for its first loss in 27 days. The Wolves handed the visitors their biggest deficit of the season, as the Golden Eagles haven't lost by more than a single goal this campaign.
With two and a half minutes in the first half,
Hannah Blacher (Allendale, N.J.) netted the eventual game-winner after drawing a penalty kick for WestConn. Anderson sent in the corner kick to the middle of the box to allow Mayen to beat defenders for the insurance goal in the 71st minute.
The hosts played aggressively on offense as the Wolves spent the majority of the time in the attacking zone.
Shannon Anderson (New Milford, Conn.) had an early opportunity at 25:54 with an open box and battled 1-on-1 with Kristin Vahle, but the Golden Eagles goalkeeper was there to make the stop. Anderson had her second chance of the night five minutes later as Vahle came far out of the cage to cut off the sophomore for the risky save.
The visitors had a few chances to get on the board, but the backfield was a force to be reckoned with. At the 24-minute mark, Rachel Brunette had a deadly shot on goal, but
Sophia Onek (Lake Ronkonkoma N.Y.) made a clutch block in the scoring zone to keep the Golden Eagles off the board. Ten minutes later, Megan Fontaine (Stamford, Conn.) denied a corner kick opportunity by Bella Sweat.
Noelle Haase (Beacon, N.Y.) made an incredible block for WestConn at 56:39 as CC Rosario attempted to narrow the deficit for SJLI.
The closest opportunity the visitors had was a shot by Rosario that doinked off the crossbar midway through the final half.
Gracen Regan (Monroe, N.J.) had a clean sheet with five saves during regulation, including two consecutive shots on goal for a pair of denials. In the 38th minute, the Golden Eagles delivered back-to-back shots on goal, but Regan was able to make both stops. Vahle made eight saves for the Golden Eagles.
WestConn returns to the WAC on Friday to host Little East Conference opponent Rhode Island College at 6 p.m., with a Senior Day celebration prior to kick off.
