SOUTH HADLEY, Mass. (Sept. 18, 2012) – Senior midfielder Alexis Bshara tallied a pair of goals to lead Western New England University to a 4-1 win over Mount Holyoke College in non-conference women's soccer action at the MHC Soccer Field. The visiting Golden Bears move to 4-4-1 on the season, while the homestanding Lyons slip to 0-5-1.
The Golden Bears struck first as first year Emma Norden (Belchertown, Mass./Belchertown) put one past Mount Holyoke's Mackenzie Randall (Harwinton, Conn./Forman) off a feed from classmate Sarah Marois (Waterford, N.Y./Catholic Central) at 26:56.
Western New England wasted little time in adding to its advantage as Bshara (West Springfield, Mass./Cathedral) capitalized on a missed clear in front and sent a high arching shot over the reach of Randall at the 28:32 mark.
Bshara then made it a 3-0 lead for the visitors at 36:13 as sophomore Avery Clark (Groton, Conn./Fitch) settled a loose ball on the left side and laid it back for the looping put-in.
Mount Holyoke broke-up the shutout with 2:02 remaining in the half as a foul in the box awarded the Lyons with a penalty shot. Sophomore Hannah Yee (Amherst, Mass./Amherst Regional) lined up for the kick, sneaking it in on the right side past a diving Briana Kubic (Blandford, Mass./Westfield) to make it 3-1.
Following halftime, Western New England had several chances quickly to add to their lead, including a quick shot in front by rookie Rachel Suntag (Boonton, N.J./Morris Knolls), but Randall was able to make a nice deflecting stop.
It would be rookie Karoline Sperber (Martinsville, N.J./Bridgewater-Rartian) who capped the game's scoring at 72:43 as she drilled a long shot into the right corner of the net. The ball had originally been blocked a few feet up by a Mount Holyoke defender, giving Sperber the rebound attempt.
For the game, WNE's Kubic posted the win, making one stop between the pipes. Randall shouldered the loss for Mount Holyoke, making three saves. Overall, the Golden Bears held an 11-6 advantage in shots and a 5-2 edge in corner kicks.
Mount Holyoke returns to action on Saturday when it hosts NEWMAC-rival Coast Guard at 1pm. Western New England travels to Nichols for a 5pm conference game next Tuesday.
