MIT Uses First Half Offense to Power Past WNE Men's Lacrosse

Cambridge, Mass. (March 5, 2023) - For the first time since 2007, the Western New England Men's Lacrosse team squared off against Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), today. Although the Golden Bears were able to muster 14 goals on the day, it was not enough as they fell to the Engineers, 25-14. 

Records:

• Western New England: 1-2
• MIT: 2-1

How it happened:

Right from the opening faceoff, MIT dominated early, with Ryan Gebhardt scoring just 32 seconds into the contest, to put the Engineers up a goal. On the following faceoff, Sean Farland was able to come away with it,  leading to an offensive possession for WNE. MIT goalie Devin McCabe would stop a shot from Thomas Labbe, leading to a MIT clear and eventual goal from Bennett Stankovits, from Gebhardt. MIT would continue the pressure, with two more goals, this time both coming from Heath Nilsen. Following a Golden Bears timeout, the Western New England was given an extra-man opportunity and took advantage of it, with Noah Rust finding the back of the net, from Mike Bannon. MIT was looking to increase their lead after the ensuing faceoff, but a blocked shot from Alex Henry led to an opportunity on the offensive end, where he would find Jack Houlden over halfway down the field, leading to Houlden finding the back of the net, to put the Golden Bears within a pair. Labbe would force a MIT turnover on a clear shortly after, that would end up resulting in him scoring a goal on the ensuing possession with five minutes to play in the first quarter. MIT answered quickly and kept applying the pressure, as they would go on to score five unanswered goals to end the first, with goals coming from Bryce Metalios, Zach Bleil (man-up), Stankovits, and a pair from Nilsen, to put the Engineers up 9-3 at the end of the first quarter.

The second quarter would be the slowest quarter on the day, with only seven goals being scored. Nilsen would find the back of the net first in the second for MIT, only for WNE to answer a minute later with Dylan Hanley finding Jacob Roy for the goal. Golden Bear's goaltender, Jonathon Salsbury, would see eight shots within the next four minutes of game time, making two saves, before Gebhardt was able to sneak one past him, shortly following a MIT's timeout. The remaining seven minutes of the first half saw strong MIT offense, as they were able to put up four more goals, coming from Stankovits, Nilsen, and a pair from Gebhardt. The final faceoff of the half was won by Chris Catuosco, and the Golden Bears acted quick, to try to sneak in a goal going into half, but McCabe was able to stop Labbe's shot as the half was coming to a close, to keep the Engineers up 15-4. 

The second half came out to a slow start, with both teams trading possessions back and forth over the first three minutes, before Gebhardt would start the scoring, as he would find the back of the net with 12:05 left in the third, and then added another goal just thirty seconds later. Hanley would answer soon for the Golden Bears seeing one of his shots go past McCabe, and then adding another goal, coming from Rust on the man-up opportunity. WNE would end up scoring their third goal in a row as Ben Kolb would score for the Golden Bears. MIT was able to stop the momentum WNE was building, as Bleil scored on the ensuing possession. MIT would be the only team to score in the remaining six minutes of the quarter, as they would go on to score four more, with Metalios and Gebhardt each netting a pair, to put the Engineers up 22-7.

The final quarter would be the best for the Golden Bears' on the day, eventually doubling the amount of goals that they came into the quarter with. WNE would start fast, scoring two goals in the first 70 seconds, coming from Labbe and James Wrynn. Nilsen answered fast, scoring another MIT goal just 13 seconds after. CJ Sanchez would score for the Engineers a few minutes later, with Houlden answering for the Golden Bears on their next possession. Andrew Huta forced a MIT turnover on their next possession that would lead to Houlden finding Rust for a WNE goal. MIT and WNE would then trade goals, with Oscar Lindenthal scoring for the Engineers and Roy scoring for WNE. The final two goals on the day belong to the Golden Bears, with Houlden scoring a man-up goal and Wrynn scoring the last goal with two and a half minutes remaining, resulting in a 25-14 Engineers win over the Golden Bears.

Inside the Crease:

• Western New England falls to 1-2 on their 2023 campaign, falling MIT for the first time in over 20 years.

• Three Golden Bears lead the way with four points, Dylan Hanley (two goals and two assists), Mike Bannon (four assists), and Jack Houlden (three goals and one assist).

• Salsbury made 14 saves in net, compared to the six between McCabe and David Vapnek.

• WNE was able to capitalize on three of their four extra-man opportunities.

• Ryan Gebhardt led the way for the Engineers with 12 points (eight goals and four assists), closely followed from Heath Nilsen and his nine points (seven goals and two assists).

Up Next on the Schedule:

• Western New England hosts Babson College Saturday, March 11 at 1:00 pm.

• MIT will have just two days between games, as they will travel to Roger Williams University, Wednesday, March 8 at 8:00 pm.