Men’s Lacrosse Beats Endicott on Senior Day, 9-7

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (April 16, 2022) – The Western New England men's lacrosse team took down Endicott College on Saturday afternoon from Golden Bear Stadium by a final score of 9-7 to remain perfect in CCC play. Prior to the contest, the Golden Bears honored their 13 seniors and graduate students. 

Records:

• Western New England: 9-5, 5-0 CCC
• Endicott College: 5-5, 4-1 CCC

How it Happened:

The Gulls and the Golden Bears would be in a battle for the top spot in the Commonwealth Coast Conference standings after both teams entered the contest with an undefeated 4-0 record in CCC play. The game saw no goals in the opening seven and a half minutes of the contest, though Endicott would pick up the first goal of the game when Domenic Russo got the Gulls started to take a 1-0 lead. Russo would collect a pass from Domenic Masucci and find the back of the net. Just 1:11 later while a man up, the Gulls would double their lead when Michael Hauptman beat Carter Randall on an assist from Max Kesicki to give the Gulls a 2-0 lead. A nice response from the Golden Bears would get them on the board for the first time when Dylan Hanley picked up Western New England's first goal of the contest with 5:29 to play in the first quarter. Quickly looking to tie the game, Western New England pushed and scored their second of the game when Mike Bannon ripped a shot into the back of the net on an assist from Matt Greer, his 99^th career assist with Western New England to tie the game at two. That is where the game would stand after the first 15 minutes of play as Endicott would take 12 shots in the first quarter, while WNE came away with nine. Carter Randall and Tim Lucaino made four saves each to open the first quarter of play. 

As they did to open the first quarter, the Gulls came away with the first two goals of the second quarter. Russo would grab his second of the game on a Nick Pagluiso assist to get the Gulls their second lead of the game. Guerin Favreau would extend Endicott's lead to two goals with 6:23 to play, giving EC a 4-2 lead. Western New England would comeback, grabbing three goals in the final 2:37 of play in the quarter to take their first lead of the contest. Brian Madden would start the scoring parade for WNE on a Mike Bannon assist to get WNE their third goal of the game. With 14 seconds remaining, Conor Tracy would dial up a goal to even the score at four for the Golden Bears. Western New England's Jack Seiter would win a huge faceoff following theTracy goal seeing Kevin Faustich collect the ground ball and race down the offensive side of the field and beeline straight for goal. Faustich would come up with a ripping shot that found the back of the net with just two seconds remaining in the half, giving WNE a 5-4 lead, their first lead of the contest.  Western New England would leave the field outshooting the Gulls in the second quarter 9-7. 

Endicott would come back in the third quarter and quickly tie the game as WNE and EC went goal for goal in the third quarter. Nate Cuttitta was able to find the back of the net for the Gulls to even the score at five with ten and a half minutes to play in the quarter. A five-minute span nearly went by without a goal from either team until Mike Bannon found the back of the net for Western New England to give the Golden Bears their lead back. Bannon was assisted by Matt Greer on the play for assist number 100 in Greer's career. Endicott came back just 1:42 after the Bannon tally to tie the score again. WNE's Brian Madden would quickly untie the contest with 1:54 remaining in the quarter as Western New England would maintain a one goal lead after 45 minutes of play. 

Just three goals were had in the final 15 minutes of play as Western New England expanded on their one goal lead for the first time all afternoon when Joseph Contino found the back of the net to give WNE an 8-6 lead with 8:40 to play in the contest. Answering quickly to the tally was Endicott and Nick Pagluiso, who picked up his first of the afternoon to give the Gulls their eighth goal of the game, trailing by just one. Endicott and Western New England would push for the next big goal of the game, though both sets of defenses loomed large for the two schools. With 35 seconds remaining, WNE's Brian Madden would fire a shot into the net on an assist from Matt Greer to give the Golden Bears a 9-7 lead. Endicott would be unable to score another goal in the contest as WNE came away with the two-goal win on senior day to remain perfect in CCC play. The Golden Bears also avenge their two losses as the hands of Endicott from a season ago. 

Around the Turf:

• Mike Bannon led Western New England with two goals and two assists on the afternoon, good for four points for the Golden Bears. Brian Madden netted three goals in the win to lead all scorers in the game. 
• Endicott outshot the Golden Bears 40-38 in the close contest.
• Sean Farland went 2/2 in the faceoff circle as Western New England won 10 of the 19 faceoffs on the afternoon. WNE scooped 40 groundballs, as Endicott came away with 44. 
• The Gulls scored on all of their man-up advantages, while WNE failed to score while a man up. 
• GK Carter Randall made 16 saves, including a game high five in the fourth quarter to preserve the win for the Golden Bears. 
• Western New England honored their 13 seniors and graduate students on the afternoon prior to first faceoff. Congratulations to Matt Greer, Mike Bannon, Murphy Hartmann, Mitch Weiss, Noah Rust, Josh Salem, Jared Newall, Conor Tracy, Ryan Crawford, Jack Seiter, Jamaurie James, Kevin Faustich, and Trevor Crawford!

Up Next on the Schedule:

• Western New England hosts Salve Regina University on Tuesday, April 19 at 7:00 pm for a huge CCC showdown. 
• Endicott travels to Curry College on Wednesday, April 20 at 4:00 pm.