Golden Bears Rush Past Bison, Improve to 7-1 in CCC Play

SPRINGFIELD, MA (April 26, 2023) – The Western New England Men's Lacrosse team hosted the Nichols College Bison today for their regular season finale. Led by ten saves in net by Carter Randall, Western New England would move to 7-1 in CCC play as they beat the Bison 20-5 on the day.

Records:

• Western New England: 9-8 (7-1)
• Nichols College: 10-7 (4-4)

How it Happened:

Western New England would dominate the first quarter, outscoring the Bison 6-0. Following a save by Randall on the Bison's opening possession, neither team would score until the 9:03 minute mark of the quarter. Bison goalkeeper, Brady Morgan would make a pair of saves in net before Noah Rust would fire a shot past him to put WNE up a goal. Chris Catuosco would win the ensuing faceoff for the Golden Bears, leading to Jacob Roy netting a goal to put WNE up a pair. After three Randall saves over the next five minutes, Zachary Mein would score his first of the day. Following another Catuosco faceoff win, Rust would assist Jack Houlden for his first of many for the game. 24 seconds later, Ben Kolb would find Houlden for his second so far, right after Catusco won the faceoff. Shortly after, Sean Farland would cause a Nichols turnover, that would lead to Dylan Hanley netting his first on the day, to put WNE up 6-0. Morgan would make two saves in the final 1:38 of the quarter to keep the score the same heading into the second quarter. 

The second quarter would be the lowest scoring quarter on the day as four total goals would be scored. Following two Randall saves, Nichols finally got on the board at the 9:34 mark as Hunter Ferreira would score the first goal for the Bison. A few minutes later, WNE would answer as Michael Knapp would cause a turnover, resulting in Andrew Huta assisting Houlden for a goal, putting WNE back up by six. Four and a half minutes later, following a save from Randall and a pair of saves from Morgan, Hanley would score his second goal of the game. Nine seconds later after a Catuosco faceoff win, Mike Bannon got his first point of the day as he found Houlden for the goal. Neither team would score during the final two minutes of the half as each goalie would make a save and WNE would head into the half, up 9-1.

The third quarter would be the highest scoring overall quarter as the teams would combine for eight goals over the 15 minutes of play. Nichols would start off the quarter by scoring two goals in the opening 3:13 of the quarter, as Colby Gillis would score for the Bison, followed by a man-up goal from Dylan DeRubeis. Two and a half minutes later, Bannon would add another point as he would find Rust for another goal. Two minutes and 21 seconds later Gillis would answer and try to build the momentum for the Bison. Ben Kolb would not allow the Bison to try to make a run as he would score just 29 seconds later, after a Catuosco faceoff win. WNE would score three more goals in the final 4:24 of the quarter as Mein would net the first, Hanley assisting Roy for the second, and Hanley assisting Houlden on a man-up goal for the third, putting WNE up 14-4 heading into the final quarter.

WNE would dominate the final quarter, just as they did in the first, as they would score six goals during the final 15 minutes of play. Hanley would assist Bannon on the first goal of the fourth, just 34 seconds in. Just over three minutes later, the duo would score again, with Hanley assisting another Bannon goal, as the pair each got closer to their point milestones. 37 seconds later, after a faceoff win by Farland, WNE increased their lead as Thomas Labbe netted his first goal in the game. Kyle Ettenhofer would score 27 seconds later for the Bison, which would end up being their final goal In the game. WNE would go on to score three more goals across the remaining 6:45 of the contest, with the first coming from Huta off a James Wyrnn pass. Following a save from Jonathon Salsbury in net, Ben Kolb would assist Mein on his third goal on the day. Collin Hughes would net the final goal of the game coming from Kevin Morina, to put WNE up 20-5 with 2:37 remaining, which would end as the final score of the contest. 

Inside The Crease:

• WNE improves to 9-8 on the season and 7-1 in CCC play.
• The Golden Bears were led on the attack by six points from Hanley (two goals and four assists and five goals from Houlden.
• WNE went 21-24 for clears on the day.
• Catuosco lead WNE on faceoffs, going 17-21 out of the team's overall 20-28.
• Nichols was led by two points from Dylan DeRubeis (one goal and one assist) and Colby Gillis (two goals). 

Up Next on the Schedule:

• Western New England and Nichols College will find out their playoff opponents for the upcoming CCC tournament on Thursday, April 27, at 1:30 p.m., when the tournament pairings will be released.