Two Golden Bears Reach Milestones as Men's Lacrosse Takes Down Hawks to Open CCC Play

BRISTOL, RI (March 27, 2023) - The Western New England Men's Lacrosse team traveled down to Roger Williams University tonight, as they looked to kick off CCC play with a win against the Hawks. Led by 11 points from Mike Bannon, who would set the WNE Men's Lacrosse career assist program record today, while Noah Rust would tally his 100^th point, the Golden Bears took down the Hawks, 24-10.

Records:

• Western New England: 2-6
• Roger Williams: 4-4

How it Happened:

Western New England would apply the pressure early on, scoring two goals in under the first two minutes of play, as Mike Bannon would find James Wrynn for the first goal, and Bannon would go on to score the second for WNE, as Dylan Hanley would assist him, to put the Golden Bears up a pair. Roger Williams would answer a few minutes later, as Kevin Murphy would pull the Hawks to within a goal and then a Matt Halpin goal would knot the game at two-a-piece with 8:39 left in the first quarter. Both teams would trade goals over the next three minutes, as Bannon found Hanley to put WNE up a goal, before Pehrson Szuluk would net a goal for the Hawks, to tie the game up at three. Just over a minute and a half later, Roger Williams would take the lead as Aj DaRin would find the back of the net. Sean Farland would win the ensuing faceoff, which would lead to the tying goal for Jack Houlden, less than 30 seconds later. Bannon would find Hanley again, to put WNE up a goal, as WNE took the lead 5-4, heading into the second quarter.

The second quarter was dominated by Western New England, as they would score five goals in a row, before the Hawks would net their lone goal of the quarter with seconds to play in the half. WNE would start out hot, with Houlden netting a goal 36 seconds into the quarter, and then finding Bannon, 25 seconds later, to put WNE up three. Houlden added another goal, a few minutes later, and soon after, Hanley found Madden for a goal, to increase the Golden Bears lead to five. Over the next five minutes of play, both teams would trade possessions, as both goalies would make a save, before Madden would find an open Thomas Labbe for a goal with just under three minutes to play in the half. Roger Williams looked to cut into WNE's lead, as they would score with just seven seconds left in the half, as Halpin brought the Hawks to within five heading into halftime. 

The third quarter would end up being the highest scoring quarter on the day, with 13 total goals being scored over the 15 minutes of play. Chris Catuosco opened the half with a faceoff win for the Golden Bears, which eventually lead to a Zachary Mein goal, coming from Jacob Roy. WNE would go on to score four more goals, totaling five goals in the first five minutes of play in the second half. Houlden, Wrynn, Hanley, and Labbe would each score, as Hanley and Bannon would each pick up a pair of assists over the four goals. Roger Williams would answer with a pair of goals of their own, as Murphy and Noah Ravas would each score, to cut the Golden Bear's lead to eight. Both teams would continue to trade goals, as Houlden found Bannon for WNE, before Murphy would net a goal for the Hawks. Halpin would decrease WNE's lead to seven, before Bannon would find Tim Kolb, for WNE, to bring the lead back to eight, with two minutes to play in the quarter. The teams would trade goals again in the final minute of the quarter, as Ryan Vendetti would score for the Hawks and Bannon would find an open Hanley. With that assist for Bannon, he set the WNE Men's Lacrosse program assist record, with 123 assists, passing his former teammate Matt Greer. 

The final 15 minutes of play would be all WNE, as they would score six goals and Randall would make three saves and shut out the Hawks in the final quarter. Farland won the opening faceoff in the fourth, which would lead to Hanley finding Ben Kolb, who would rip a shot past the Hawks goalkeeper, to increase the Golden Bears lead to nine. Just over a minute later, Mein would increase the lead to ten as Noah Rust would set him up for a goal, which resulted in Rust's 100^th career point (64 goals and 36 assists). Joseph Bussinelli would net his first goal of the season, 28 seconds later, shortly following a Catuosco faceoff win. Over the next four and a half minutes, both teams would trade possessions, with Randall making two saves, before Bannon would net another goal, coming from Wrynn this time. A minute later, Houlden found Hanley for another WNE goal and Ben Kolb would net the final goal of the game a couple minutes later, to increase WNE's lead to 24-10. The final five minutes of play was scoreless, as both teams would trade possessions, resulting in a 24-10 Golden Bears win.

Inside The Crease:

• WNE kicked off CCC play with a win, bringing their season record to 2-6.
• Mike Bannon tallied 11 points on the day (four goals and seven assists) and Dylan Hanley had 10 points (four goals and six assists), as the pair lead WNE on offense.
• Two Golden Bears reached career milestones, with Bannon setting the program assist record (123 career assists) and Noah Rust reached 100 career points (64 goals and 36 assists).
• Randall made 14 saves in his season debut, compared to Max Kimmel and Ryan Boutiette combining for eight saves in net for the Hawks.
• WNE went 29-39 on faceoffs, with Farland going 12-17 and Catuosco going 14-19.
• The Hawks were lead by four points from Matt Halpin (three goals and one assist) and three points from Kevin Murphy (three goals). 

Up Next on the Schedule:

• Western New England will travel to play Amherst College in two days, on Wednesday, March 29, at 6:00 p.m.
• Roger Williams will make the trip to Curry College on Saturday, April 1^st, at 12:00 p.m.