Springfield, Mass. – September 4, 2024 – The Springfield College women's soccer team rallied for a 2-2 draw against crosstown rival Western New England in their home opener tonight on Brock-Affleck Field.

Springfield now sits at 1-0-1 after tying with Western New England for the second consecutive season, while the Golden Bears are 1-0-2 thus far in 2024.

First-year Ryan Prystowski (Westfield, Mass.) registered her first collegiate goal with just 2:33 remaining in the opening stanza as the Pride took the edge into the halftime break. Prystowski finished a ball that was sent into the box from the right side by Mirabel Brunell (Clifton Park, N.Y.).

Western New England struck swiftly out of halftime as the visitors scored twice – both by Isabella Montalvo just seven minutes apart for the 2-1 advantage. Montalvo's first goal came off a feed From Lindsay Reidy in the 51st minute before her second came as an unassisted strike in the 58th minute.

Springfield had plenty of opportunities to equalize the game – ultimately outshooting Western New England by a 15-11 margin in addition to having a 5-0 edge in corners, but after Mia Salmon (Arlington, Va.) was taken down in the box, the Pride knotted the score at two. Jen Walker (Webster, Mass.) was awarded the penalty kick and buried it into the corner of the net for her first tally of the 2024 campaign. Walker's goal was the 13th of her career and second converted penalty kick.

Mallory Forgatch (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.) and Taryn Ryan (Holyoke, Mass.) split halves for Springfield – both accumulating two saves apiece in the effort.

Springfield returns to action on Sunday, September 9 with a home matchup with nationally-ranked Williams College at 1:00 pm.

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