Houlden, Hanley Lead WNE Past Curry in CCC Play

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (April 4, 2023) – The Western New England men's lacrosse team came away with a 16-6 victory on Tuesday night from Golden Bear Stadium over the Colonels of Curry College, picking up their third CCC victory of the season. Jack Houlden and Dylan Hanley led the way on offense for the blue and gold while four different Golden Bears caused turnovers to help stymie the Colonel offense. 

Records:

• Western New England: 4-7, 3-0 CCC
• Curry College: 4-7, 1-3 CCC

How it Happened:

The Golden Bears got on the Colonels early and never looked back pouring in eight goals in the opening quarter. Mike Bannon got the Golden Bears off to a quick start getting a pass from Dylan Hanley and firing the shot past Curry keeper Austin Brown to give WNE a 1-0 lead. Thomas Labbe would get on the board for the first time in the game for WNE's next goal after Hanley found the first year in front of the net to get WNE their second goal of the game. Curry would not go down quietly, scoring their first goal of the game on a feed from Pat Modoono to Brody Dalzell to cut the Golden Bears lead in half, at 2-1. From there, Western New England would rip off the next six goals of the quarter as Dylan Hanley (3), Jack Houlden, Tim Kolb, and Thomas Labbe would all contribute on the offensive end for the Golden Bears. 

Curry would control much of the action in the second quarter, outscoring Western New England 3-2 in the quarter. The two teams would exchange goals throughout the quarter until the Colonels would get one past Carter Randall with 2:45 to play while up a player while Curry's Connor Bryant would score a late goal in the second, with seven seconds left, as Western New England would lead 10-4 after 30 minutes of play. Jack Houlden would score both WNE goals in the second. 

After Curry opened the scoring in the third, Western New England would go on their second scoring streak of the night, grabbing six straight goals from the third quarter into the fourth quarter to take a commanding lead over Curry. In the third, James Wrynn, Michael Knapp, Mike Bannon (2), and Jack Houlden would all score for Western New England as the blue and gold would go out to outscore the visitors 4-1 in the quarter. 

The Golden Bears would wrap up the game in the fourth, putting an additional three goal on the board to take the important CCC victory. TJ Dalicandro, Mike Bannon, and Thomas Labbe would score for Western New England in the quarter while Nathan Leone, Jack Houlden and James Wrynn would pick up assists to help Western New England defeat Curry College by a final score of 17-6 from Golden Bear Stadium, picking up their third CCC win of the season. 

Inside the Lines:

• Both Jack Houlden and Dylan Hanley collected eight points apiece in the win. Hanley scored three times while dishing five assists while Houlden secured the even split, four goals and four assists. 
• Thomas Labbe collected three goals on three shots on goal while Mike Bannon shot the ball 14 times towards goal, putting nine shots on target. 
• WNE was 23/27 in the faceoff circle with Sean Farland winning 10/13 faceoffs while CCC Specialist of the Week Chris Catuosco went 13/14 in the circle. 
• The Golden Bears scooped 48 ground balls to Curry's 17 and were perfect on clears (13/13) while Curry failed on eight clear attempts. 
• WNE scored three goals while a man up, totaling 60 shots during the game. 
• GK Carter Randall made his Golden Bear Stadium debut tonight, making six saves. Two Curry goalkeepers combined for 20 saves in the loss. 
• WNE has won 17 straight conference games dating back to April 10, 2021. 

Up Next on the Schedule:

• The Golden Bears play host to Wentworth Institute on Saturday, April 8 at 1:00 PM.