Houlden’s Last Second Goal Sinks Springfield 13-12 in Triple Overtime

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (April 12, 2023) - The Western New England Men's Lacrosse team took on cross-town rival Springfield College today, as they rounded out their non-conference schedule for the season. Jack Houlden would play hero on the day, scoring with a second left in triple overtime, as the Golden Bears would beat the Pride 13-12 in triple overtime.

Records:

• Western New England: 6-7
• Springfield College: 4-8

How it Happened:

Springfield applied the pressure early, as former Golden Bear Conor Tracy would net the first goal of the game, for the Pride, coming from Riley Burgmyer, 1:55 into the game. 38 seconds later, Tracy would add another point, as he added an assist on a Mason Nocito goal, to put the Pride up a pair. After Anthony Gamba would force a turnover on the defensive end, WNE would net their first goal of the game as Zachary Mein would bring the Golden Bears to within one. Springfield would answer back a minute later as Jaiden Gaudet scored for the Pride. SC tacked on two more goals over the next two and a half minutes, as Matthew Webb and Alek Turi scored, with both coming from Kevin Tierny. Golden Bear Goalkeeper, Carter Randall tried to keep the Pride scoreless for the remainder of the first, as he made three saves and did not allow another goal through the remainder of the quarter. Following the third save, it would lead to Dylan Hanley netting his first of the game with 20 seconds in the quarter. Following an ensuing faceoff win by Sean Farland, Jack Houlden would find Mike Bannon to bring the Golden Bears to within a pair with five seconds left in the quarter. 

The second 15 minutes of play would see only one goal scored. Both teams would trade possessions over the quarter, with Randall making a save and Pride goalkeeper, Dean Pesce making three saves in net to start the quarter. With 5:46 left in the first half, Turi found Brady Soldo for the goal, putting the Pride up 6-3. That would remain the score heading into halftime, as neither team would score in the remainder of the half, as Randall made four saves and Pesce made three to keep the Pride up three.

Western New England started off the third quarter hot, as Gamba would force another turnover on defense, that led to Hanley finding Bannon, to put the Golden Bears within a pair. Farland would win the ensuing faceoff, and just 45 seconds after Bannon's goal, Ben Kolb would find Thomas Labbe to bring WNE to within one. Michael Knapp would tally a point two minutes later, as he assisted Bannon's tying goal, to knot the game up at six. Less than 30 seconds later, Springfield took advantage of an extra-man opportunity, as Tracy found Mason Nocito, putting the Pride up one. Tracy added two more points over the next two and a half minutes, as he scored two unassisted goals, to put the Pride back up three. Gamba helped prevent the Pride from scoring their fourth goal in a row, as he caused another turnover which led to Hanley's second goal on the day, with 6:26 left in the third. Hanley added another point, finding Labbe for the goal, a minute later, to bring WNE to within a goal. A minute after Labbe's goal, Ben Kolb scored his first of the game, to tie the game up at nine, with 4:22 left in the third. Tracy would score the final goal of the third, with 1:21 left, to put the Pride up 10-9 heading into the final quarter.

Both goalkeepers would start off the final quarter by making a save, on each end of the field, but Noah Rust would fire a shot past Pesce, to tie the game up for WNE. Pesce would prevent WNE from taking their first lead on the day, making two saves in net, before Tracy was able to net another goal, to put the Pride back up a goal. Neither team would score over the next five minutes, as the teams would trade possessions, with Randall making a save in net. Brian Madden would tie the game back up at 11, as he would score his first goal of the game with 7:20 left to play. WNE would take their first lead of the game, three minutes later as Jack Gara would cause a turnover on defense, leading to a Hanley goal, to put WNE up one. SC did not let WNE hold that lead for too long, as a minute later, Nocito would knott the game up at 12 a piece. Both teams would have chances to score the last goal in regulation, but neither would, as Gara caused a turnover in the final seconds, to send the game into overtime.

Vincent Scialdone would win the first overtime faceoff, but Knapp would cause a turnover, halting their chances for the moment. Both teams would fire shots on net over the four minutes of the first overtime period, but with Pesce making a save and Randall making two saves, including one with one second left, the score would remain 12-12, as the teams would head to the second overtime. 

In the second overtime, both teams would take their time with their possessions, looking for the best scoring opportunity possible, to send their fans home happy with a win. Springfield would win the faceoff and take too much time off the clock, as WNE would force a shot clock violation on defense, giving them a chance to win. Pesce would make a save on Hanley on the ensuing WNE offensive possession, allowing the Pride another chance to end the game in 2OT. Alex Henry was not going to allow that to happen, as he would force a turnover on defense in the final seconds, to send the game to triple overtime.

After winning the faceoff to start the third overtime, SC would repeat what they did during the second overtime, as they would have a shot clock violation, allowing WNE a chance to win the game. WNE was unable to convert, which allowed for SC to try to end the game, but Randall came up huge in net, making a save on Nocito, with 28 seconds left. Randall would pick up the ball and find a teammate down the field, as time was running out in the third overtime. With one second left on the game clock, Jack Houlden would fire a shot on net, past Pesce, sending Golden Bear Stadium into a frenzy, as WNE had defeated their cross-town rival, Springfield College, 13-12 in triple overtime.

Inside The Crease:

• WNE improved to 6-7 on the season, rounding out their non-conference schedule.
• Dylan Hanley led the Golden Bears on offense with five points (three goals and two assists).
• Randall improved to 5-0 on the season, making 13 saves on the day.
• WNE was 21-23 on clears in the game.
• Springfield was led by Conor Tracy on offense, finishing with seven points (five goals and two assists).

Up Next on the Schedule:

• Western New England will get back to CCC play this upcoming Saturday, April 15, at 4:00 p.m., as they host Gordon College on senior day.
• Springfield College plays their next game next Wednesday, April 19, at 7:00 p.m., as they host Wesleyan University.