'SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - Western New England College outscored Keene State 4-3 in penalty strokes after 100 minutes of action to open its "Silver Anniversary" campaign with a 2-1 victory in the season opener for both teams Thursday.

Junior Stephanie Gildart (Portland, ME) gave the Golden Bears a 1-0 lead at 14:07 of the first half with an assist from sophomore Cori Eggert (Denville, NJ) off a penalty corner. The Owls tied the contest when junior Steph Georgevits (Concord, NH) scored with 4:53 left in regulation with an assist from junior Amanda Rosenbeck (Wilder, VT).

Both teams had several good scoring opportunities in the two 15-minutes overtime sessions, but couldn't convert.

WNEC senior goalie Jillian Brown (Plymouth, MA) had eight saves while KSC junior goalie Sara Joyce (Hampstead, NH) also stopped eight shots.

Junior Allison Jameson (Brattleboro, VT) gave the Golden Bears the victory when she hit the back of the net on the last penalty stroke of the evening.

This was the first win ever for WNEC over Keene State in three meetings and avenged a 3-0 loss to the Owls last season.

(Courtesy WNEC Sports Information)