Men's Lacrosse Dropped by Bowdoin College in Tampa

TAMPA, Fla. (March 14, 2023) - The Western New England Men's Lacrosse team took on the Bowdoin College Polar Bears for their first spring break game at the University of Tampa, in Tampa, Florida. The Golden Bears were led by Dylan Hanley, who finished with three points, but fell to the Polar Bears, 19-7.

Records:

• Western New England: 1-4
• Bowdoin College: 2-1

How it Happened:

Western New England was looking to kick off their spring break down south to Tampa, Florida, with a win against Bowdoin College, for the third matchup in program history between the two teams, having split the previous two.

Both teams were held scoreless for the first four minutes of game time, as both teams would trade possessions, and Golden Bears' goalie, Jonathon Salsbury would make two saves in goal, before Bowdoin would strike first, with Sam Raye-Steiner scoring after receiving the feed from Patrick Fitzgerald, to put Bowdoin up 1-0. Just under three minutes later Dylan Hanley would knot the game up at one a piece as he would score the first goal for the Golden Bears on the day. The two teams would trade goals again, as three minutes later, Sam Powell would find Will Byrne for Bowdoin's second goal and shortly after, Jacob Roy would answer back for the Golden Bears to tie the game at two. The final goal of the quarter would be scored by Patrick Fitzgerald for the Polar Bears with just ten seconds left, to put Bowdoin up one heading into the second quarter.

The second 15 minutes of play would be the highest scoring quarter on the day, but not in the Golden Bears favor. Just ten seconds into the second, Fitzgerald would score his second on the day, to put Bowdoin up a pair. WNE would respond a few minutes later, as Hanley would find a cutting Brian Madden, across the crease, who would fire a quick shot past Bowdoin goaltender, Robert Hobbs, to pull WNE to within one. Unfortunately, that would be the only goal for the Golden Bears in the second quarter, as Bowdoin would go on to score seven unanswered goals to round out the first half. Raye-Steiner would net the first goal of the bunch, along with other goals coming from Nate Ryan, Jason Lach, and a pair each, from Byrne and Fitzgerald, as Fitzgerald scored with just 10 seconds left in the quarter for the second consecutive quarter, to put Bowdoin up 11-3, heading into halftime.

The third quarter was dominated early by Bowdoin, as they kept peppering Salsbury with shots in net. Salsbury had made two great back to back saves, before allowing the first goal of the third to Bryne, making it eight straight goals for Bowdoin. That total would climb to 11 straight goals, as Bryne would add a pair of goals and Lach would add another, over the next seven minutes of game time, to put the Polar Bears up 15-3. Hobbs had been great in goal during the third quarter for the Polar Bears, making six saves throughout the quarter, before Hanley was finally able to sneak a shot past him, with just under three minutes remaining in the quarter. The teams would trade goals with under a minute remaining, with Fitzgerald scoring with 36 seconds left for Bowdoin, and Jack Houlden netting a goal for WNE, with 23 seconds left in the quarter.

The final 15 minutes of play would end with the same amount of goals scored in the first 15 minutes of play, as Bowdoin would net 3 goals and Western New England would score twice. The teams would trade possessions a few times, before Liam Tasker would score first in the 4th for Bowdoin, five minutes into the quarter. Mike Bannon could add a pair of goals for the Golden Bears, just a few minutes later, with the second coming from Madden. Bowdoin would score their final two goals on the day with under a minute and a half left to play, as Benny Rakower and Sam Powell would each find the back of the net for the Polar Bears, before time expired, with a score of 19-7.

Inside The Crease:

• Western New England falls to 1-4 on their 2023 campaign, after falling to Bowdoin for the second year in a row.

• Dylan Hanley led WNE with three points (two goals and one assist), with Mike Bannon closely behind with two points (two goals).

• WNE ended with 37 ground balls, compared to Bowdoin's 36.

• Western New England went 17-30 on faceoffs, with Chris Catuosco going 10-17

• The Polar Bears were led by Will Bryne with eight points (six goals and two assists), with Patrick Fitzgerald following closely behind with six points (five goals and one assist).