EAST BOSTON – Taj Jensen potted the game winner and Nathan Harlow did not make a mistake in net to anchor Suffolk men's soccer to a 1-0 Conference of New England victory over Western New England Wednesday night at James A. Sartori Stadium at East Boston Memorial Park.  

The win was the Rams first over the Golden Bears in over two decades. 

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 1 | Western New England 0
RECORDS: Suffolk (7-5-3, 4-0-1 CNE) | Western New England (6-7-3, 2-3-1 CNE) 

HOW IT HAPPENED
It is no surprise that the victor would be determined by one goal after last year's heated 2-2, double overtime semifinals stalemate in the league semifinals. The Golden Bears may have ended the Rams season a year ago on penalty kicks, but it was Suffolk prevailed in this regular-season contest thanks to senior captain Jensen. 

WNE's defense attempted to clear its zone. Ford Lee headed it to keep it in Golden Bears territory. Jack Phelps picked up the rock and one touched it over to Jensen, who shot from 20 yards out. The ball zoomed past a diving Ty Bevan and the crowd erupted as Suffolk took a 1-0 lead at the 51:21 mark.  

All eyes were on both sets of keepers the rest of the way. Bevan did not face another shot, while Harlow was peppered with five in the second half including four in the final six minute. The sophomore stood up to the challenge denying one after another to preserve the crucial conference victory.  

KEEPING UP WITH THE KEEPERS

• Harlow had six saves in the shutout. 
• Bevan finished with four stops.  

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

• Jensen was responsible for the games lone score. 
• Phelps and Lee both set-up the only strike of the night. 
• Suffolk outshot Western New England overall, 18-12. 
• The Golden Bears held a slim 6-5 edge in shots on net. 
• The Rams took one more corner than WNE, 4-3.  

NOTEWORTHY

• Suffolk improved to 2-8-1 against Western New England dating back to 2022. 
• The Rams defeated the Golden Bears for the first time in nine meetings and first time since a 1-0 victory Oct. 11, 2003. 
• Both of the blue-and-golds triumph over WNE have come via 1-0 decisions and are over 20 years apart. 
• Six matches between the Rams and Golden Bears resulted in shutouts. Suffolk is 2-4 in those bouts. 
• Seven contests in the series have been decided by a one-goal margin. The Rams are 3-4 in that category. 
• Suffolk bested WNE under Bill Maddock's guidance for the first time. 
• The Rams are now 1-3-1 versus the Golden Bears with Maddock as head coach. 
• Both of Suffolk's victories in the series have come on the Rams' home turf. The blue-and-gold is 2-3-0 as the home team against WNE. 
• The blue-and-gold is 2-7-0 when playing WNE in a conference contest. 
• Suffolk has recorded its fifth shutout of the season. 
• Harlow had his second straight shutout, fifth of the year and seventh of his collegiate career.
• Jensen scored his first goal of the season. 
• Jensen tallied his second game winner. 
• Lee and Phelps both dished out their second assist of the year. 

WHAT'S NEXT?
Suffolk men's soccer clashes at Curry Saturday, Oct. 19 at 2:00 p.m.