Men’s Lacrosse Tops Keene State, 16-13

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (February 25, 2020) – The Western New England University men's lacrosse team defeated Keene State, 16-13, in non-conference action at the Owl Athletic Complex on Tuesday afternoon.

Top Performers
Juniors Matt Greer (South Windsor, Conn.) and Jared Newall (Stratford, Conn.) each scored four goals for the Golden Bears. Greer also tallied two assists, while Newall added one assist. Sophomore Mike Bannon (Edmond, Okla.) scored two and goals and provided one assist, while senior John Shahpazian (New Providence, N.J.) scored two goals.

Junior Joe Nutting (Amherst, N.H.) had four goals and two assists for the Owls. Junior Jordan Caito (Londonderry, N.H.) added three goals.

Game Review
Nutting opened the scoring for the Owls shortly into the game. Greer answered for the Golden Bears to tie the game at 1-1. After a goal put the Owls up 2-1, Western New England scored three straight goals to take a 4-2 lead. Shahpazian scored his second goal of the quarter to give the Golden Bears a 5-3 lead going into the second quarter.

The Owls came out hot to start the second quarter, scoring three of the next four goals to tie the game at 6-6. The Golden Bears responded by scoring three goals in a 2:30 span, including two from Greer. Junior Conor Tracy (Walpole, Mass.) and Bannon added to the score to put Western New England up 11-6 going into halftime.

Newall grabbed his third of the game shortly into the second half to put Western New England up 12-6. Both teams would go on to score three goals each over the remaining of the quarter. The Owls score two goals within the first five minutes of the fourth quarter to cut the Golden Bear lead down to 15-11. Sophomore Noah Rust (Windham, N.H.) scored a goal with just over nine minutes remaining to extend the Western New England lead. Keene State scored two more goals in the quarter, but it wasn't enough. 

Notes
• Western New England grabbed 36 ground balls.
• The Golden Bears went 21-23 for clears.

Up Next
Western New England (2-0) travels to Amherst on Sunday afternoon. Keene State (0-2) travels to Bates next Wednesday.