WESTFIELD, Mass. – Western New England senior forward, Brendan Claflin (Burlington, Mass./ Burlington) scored the game winner in the 26th minute to lead the Golden Bears to a 2-0 victory over Westfield State on Wednesday, September 11 at Alumni Field.
The Owls slip to 1-2 with the loss while Western New England improves to 3-1 after dropping their opener.
Claflin got the visitors on the board via a delicately placed lob over Owls' keeper, Griffin Brown (Southborough/ Algonquin). Brown was forced to challenge a long entry pass to the edge of the box, successfully punching it away from the Golden Bear attack but it landed at the feet of Brown who calmly lifted the game winner into an empty net from 25 yards out.
Brown finished with six saves on the night to keep the match within reach for the Owls in his first start of the season.
Western New England keeper, Dylan Husted (South Deerfield, Mass./ Frontier Regional) needed to turn away one shot midway through the second half to preserve the shutout. Mohamed Fofana (Pittsfield/ Taconic) put the lone bid on net for the Owls from well outside the penalty box.
Corey Brown (Somers, Conn./ Somers) picked up the second goal of the game with 4:44 left, effectively putting it out of reach for the Owls. A long Golden Bear cross from the right side found the foot of Charlie Argyle (Plymouth, Mass./ Marshfield) who blasted a shot stopped by Griffin Brown. The rebound fell to Corey Brown who capitalized on the opportunity tucking it inside the left pipe.
The Owls are idle this weekend and travel to Western Connecticut State on Tuesday, September 17 for a 6:00 p.m. start. Western New England plays their fourth consecutive MASCAC opponent when they host MCLA on Saturday, September 14 at 1:00 p.m.
