WESTFIELD, Mass. – Westfield State first-year forward Charlie Anischik (South Hadley, Mass.) capitalized in his first game as an Owl with the team's opening goal, fueling a 3-0 victory over Elms College in the 2023 regular season opener from Alumni Field in Westfield, Mass. on Saturday afternoon.
The Owls improve to 1-0 on the season while the Blazers drop to 0-2 on the year.
Elms had a prime scoring opportunity in the opening eight minutes of the game, drawing a foul in the penalty box to set up a penalty kick. Owls first-year goalkeeper Luke Theroux (Chicopee, Mass.) also had an impactful debut with Westfield, diving to the left side of the net to make the penalty save.
The Owls rode the momentum of the critical penalty save just six minutes later with Anischik converting a header on the back post off a corner feed from sophomore Santino Mazza (East Longmeadow, Mass.) to open the scoring for the game.
In the 25th minute, the Owls doubled their lead after Carter Hebert (Easthampton, Mass.) delivered a through-ball to senior Coleby Andrade (Falmouth, Mass.) who ripped a shot to the lower right corner of the net, taking a 2-0 lead into halftime.
In the second half, the Blazers threatened to trim the lead several times. In the 59th minute of action, Jacobo Molina Ferrer (Valencia, Spain) dribbled down the far side of the field and rocketed a shot on net that was saved by Theroux with the rebound deflecting right to first-year Alain Sitchet Njanko (Raleigh, N.C.) who fired one back on net that was corralled by Theroux on a diving stop.
About three minutes later, Molina Ferrer had another strong scoring opportunity, labelling a shot to the top right of the net which clanged off the crossbar and back into play to the foot of Tyler Thomas (Montpelier, Vt.) who's shot on net was saved by Theroux.
With Theroux holding strong in net, the Owls managed to extend their lead to three goals as Hebert dribbled through a pair of defenders, then ripped a shot to the short side of the net, sneaking past Blazers' keeper Collin Liedke (Newington, Conn.) for a 3-0 Owls lead.
After leading the Owls in goals and points a season ago, Hebert continued to produce up front, registering a goal and an assist.
Theroux piled up six saves in securing his first collegiate shutout in his first game. Liedke was busy in net throughout the contest, accumulating 14 saves to keep the Blazers within reach for most of the game.
Westfield State remains home for their next game as the Owls host Russell Sage on Tuesday at 7:00 P.M. from Alumni Field in Westfield, Mass. Elms College returns home to host Mitchell College on Tuesday at 7:00 P.M.