Western New England Fends Off Nichols For 10-5 Triumph

Ward tallies five points (four goals, one assist) as Golden Bears pull away in fourth quarter

DUDLEY, Mass. (April 11, 2017) – Leading 7-5 with just over ten minutes remaining in regulation, the Western New England University men's lacrosse team closed out the contest with three unanswered goals to earn a 10-5 victory over Nichols College on Tuesday evening in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) action at Vendetti Field.

Top Performers
• Sophomore Jared Ward (Littleton, Mass.) powered the Western New England offense with a team-high five points on four goals and one assist.
• Senior Frank Medlicott (Stanwood, Wash.) registered a hat trick, while junior Nicholas Beauchamp (Wilbraham, Mass.) and sophomore Tim Breau (Lima, N.Y.) chipped in with three points each (one goal, two assists).
• Sophomore Hunter Cocks (Walden, N.Y.) went 13-for-18 (72%) at the face-off X and scooped up seven ground balls, while junior goalie Steven Kerr (Hopkinton, Mass.) finished with nine saves on 14 shots.

• Junior MacKenzie Martin (Merrimack, N.Y.) paced Nichols with two goals, and three other Bison found the back of the net once.

Game Review
• Beauchamp snapped a 2-2 tie late in the first quarter with his 25^th goal of the season.
• After Martin netted his first of the game at the 13:48 mark of the second quarter, Medlicott (10:07) and Ward (3:33) both scored later in the frame, giving the Golden Bears a 5-3 edge at the break.
• Ward scored two more goals in the third quarter as Western New England held a 7-4 advantage heading into the fourth.
• Nichols stayed within striking distance, as Martin's second of the contest with 10:12 remaining in regulation made it a two-goal game (7-5).
• That would be as close as the Bison got, however, as Western New England pulled away with goals from Medlicott, junior Chris Stone (Drexel Hill, Pa.) and Ward to extend the final margin to five.

Notes
• Western New England outshot Nichols 38-27 and held a 23-15 advantage in ground balls.
• The Golden Bears were successful on 12-of-14 clears.
• Ward's five points match his season-high, which he set at Gordon on March 29. The sophomore has recorded multiple points in five straight games and has 26 overall this season.

Up Next
Western New England (4-9, 4-1 CCC) is off until next Wednesday (April 19), when the Golden Bears return home to host Roger Williams, while Nichols (7-6, 1-4 CCC) travels to Bristol, R.I. to take on the Hawks on Thursday.