CANTON, N.Y. - For the second straight year, Western New England College is headed to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division III Men's Lacrosse Championship.

Senior Jon Hayes (Waltham, MA) tallied a career high nine points on seven goals and two assists as the 15th-ranked Golden Bears posted a 13-9 victory over No. 10 St. Lawrence Saturday afternoon (May 10) in a second-round contest at North Country Field. 

WNEC will meet No. 7 Ithaca (a 17-10 winner over No. 14 Williams) on Wednesday (May 14) with the site and time to be determined.

Hayes came through with one of the top performances in school history in one of the program's biggest games. He took only nine shots and out-scored the Saints (6-5) in the first half.

Hayes gave the Golden Bears a 1-0 lead at the 8:28 mark of the opening period and tallied his sixth goal with 1:58 remaining in the second stanza for an 8-5 halftime advantage.

St. Lawrence (11-3) closed the margin to 8-6 when sophomore Scott Smith (Manilus, NY) scored 4:53 into the third period.

Senior Bryan Cofrin (Londonderry, NH) again made it a three-goal game with 8:58 remaining in the quarter and senior Tim Heffernan (Glastonbury, CT) followed with a goal 22 seconds later for a 10-6 lead.

Cofrin delivered another crucial goal with 9.1 seconds left in the period to give the Golden Bears an 11-7 lead after 45 minutes of action. He also added two assists for a four-point afternoon.

Heffernan and junior Scott Kukis (Sudbury, MA) each finished with a goal and assist while senior Mike Kelly (Cheshire, CT) contributed a pair of assists.

Junior Brody Savoie (Wilbraham, MA) and sophomore Tim Santye (Skillman, NJ) had the other goals. Junior Brian Damboise (Milldale, CT) chipped-in with an assist.

Senior goalie Chris Body (Newtown, CT) compiled 12 saves, including six in the pivotal second stanza.

St. Lawrence received three goals from junior Alex Slauson (Shelburne, VT) while sophomore Will McKee (Old Greenwich, CT) had two goals and three assists. Junior goalie Thomas Hollingsworth (Wilton, CT) stopped only five shots.

The Saints, who advanced to the second round for the second straight year, end their season with an 11-3 record.

Western New England College now has a 15-4 mark and eight-game winning streak.

Last year the Golden Bears dropped a close 12-10 decision to eventual national runner-up Cortland in the NCAA quarterfinals.