Big Third Quarter Push Leaves Men’s Lacrosse Undefeated on the Season

LEWISTON, Maine (March 9, 2022) – The Western New England men's lacrosse team saw themselves trail in the opening quarter, trailing for the first time all season, though an eight goal third quarter would be plenty to push the Golden Bears past the winless Bates College Bobcats on Wednesday night from Garcelon Field.

Records:

• Western New England: 4-0
• Bates College: 0-3

How it Happened:

The Golden Bears, who have not trailed in their three victories in the 2022 season, saw the Bates College Bobcats get off to a quick start in the early goings of the game, putting Western New England down 4-0 early. Jack Lousarian would grab the first two goals for the Bobcats, while Robert Purcifull and Jackson Sell would beat Golden Bears goalie Carter Randall as the Bobcats would strike quickly. Western New England's Mike Bannon would get WNE on the board for the first time on the evening while UP one player with under five minutes to play in the quarter. Matt Greer would score for WNE with three minutes to play while Bates added a goal as well, ending the quarter at 5-2 in favor of the host team. Bates would outshoot Western New England 14-12 in the first 15 minutes of play. 

The game turned in the favor of the Golden Bears in the second quarter as Conor Tracy would open the scoring on an assist from Mike Bannon, while Joseph Contino would find the back of the net on a helper from Greer to get the Golden Bears within one goal of a tie. The Bobcats would work the next goal of the contest as Wil Masterson picked up a tally from Jackson Sell to get the Bobcats back on the board. Western New England would answer with three straight to take their first lead of the game as Tracy, Ben Kolb and Jared Newall would pick up goals for the Golden Bears, giving WNE a 7-6 lead. Bates would respond 30 seconds after Western New England took their first lead of the game and evened the score again at seven all. Ben Kolb would find goal for his second of the night to give the Golden Bears an 8-7 lead, the second lead of the night for Western New England. WNE would remain in control of the remainder of the contest from there. Newall would finish the scoring for WNE in the quarter, as Western New England would out score the Bobcats 7-3 in the second 15 minutes of play and would take a 9-8 lead heading into the second half of play. WNE took 19 shots in the second quarter, while Bates came away with just seven. 

Western New England would dominate the third quarter of play, picking up the first seven goals of the quarter before the hosts could register a tally. Brian Madden opened the third quarter with a blistering rip that beat Bates goalie, Spencer Wood. Madden would add two additional goals in the quarter, scoring three total. Bannon would continue his dominance on the field and came away with two tallies in the 7-0 span to open the quarter, picking up a helper from Dylan Hanley on his first goal of the quarter. Newall and Greer would both get goals to end the run for Western New England on assists from Bannon to give the Golden Bears their biggest lead of the night, at the time, at 16-8. Tracy would finish the quarter for the Golden Bears by netting his third of the night to give Western New England a 17-9 lead. WNE came away with 13 shots in the third quarter, netting eight of those shots, while Bates scored just once on seven shot attempts. 

The Golden Bears would continue their winning ways as they headed into the fourth quarter and opened the quarter with a Joseph Bussinelli goal, giving the Golden Bears a ten goal lead. The Bobcats would fight back at the midway point of the quarter, picking up four of five goals in a five-minute span, dropping the Golden Bears lead to seven with five minutes to play. Newall would score the final goal of the night for Western New England, as the Golden Bears would take control in the second half and send Bates College to their third straight loss, taking down the Bobcats 21-13. 

Inside the Arc:

• Mike Bannon led the way for Western New England, scoring four goals and adding four assists, good for a season high eight points in the game. Bannon now has 18 points this season in four games played. 
• Jared Newall guided the Golden Bears with four goals on nine shots, eight on goal. 
• Ben Kolb, Brian Madden and Conor Tracy all scored three goals apiece for Western New England in the win. 
• Goalkeeper Carter Randall made 13 saves on 26 shots on goal faced in the win. Randall moves to 4-0 on the season. 
• Western New England went 7-10 in the faceoff circle in the third quarter, as Western New England would outscore the Bobcats 8-1 in those 15 minutes of play. Jack Seiter led the way for WNE going 16-34 in the circle. Rocco DeSimone was successful in his lone attempt. 
• WNE outshot Bates 50-40 in the contest, including 44-28 in the first 45 minutes of play. 

Up Next on the Schedule:

• Western New England travels to Tampa, Florida for two games in the Sunshine State for spring break. The Golden Bears will take on St. Lawrence University and Nazareth College in Florida on March 15 & 17^th, respectively. 
• Bates returns to NESCAC action on Saturday, March 12 at 1:00 pm when Trinity (Conn.) University visits Garcelon Field in Lewiston.