SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (April 12, 2016) - The Western New England University women's lacrosse team bounced back from its first losing streak of the season with a dominant 19-5 victory over Nichols College this afternoon in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) action at Golden Bear Stadium.
 
Western New England (9-4, 3-2 CCC) was in control throughout, leading 4-1 less than ten minutes into the contest before ending the first half on an 8-0 run. The Golden Bears didn't let their lead dip below ten in the second half, allowing a season-low five goals in the win.
 
Western New England's balanced offensive effort featured eight multi-point performers, led by senior Taylor Scialdone (Yorktown Heights, N.Y.) and sophomore Julia Winer (Longmeadow, Mass.), who recorded with six each. Senior Brooke Kumnick (Granby, Conn.) added four points (three goals, one assist), while classmates Emma Norden (Belchertown, Mass.) and Ashley Brunner (Stratford, Conn.) chipped in with three each.
 
Senior Megan Clune (Scotia, N.Y.) recovered a game-high five ground balls, and sophomore Lauren Hurley (Saint James, N.Y.) led all players with three caused turnovers.
 
Sophomore goalie Shannon McFadden (West Islip, N.Y.) made six saves in just over 50 minutes in the cage, while classmate Madison Cutler (Pittston, Maine) came on for the final ten minutes and stopped two shots.
 
Sophomore Lindsay O'Connell (Danvers, Mass.) paced the Nichols offense with three goals on five shots, and also collected a game-high three draw controls. Classmate Rachel Birmingham (Naples, Fla.) paced the Bison with four ground balls.
 
Nichols held a 16-10 advantage in draw controls, but the Golden Bears had the edge in shots on goal (29-13), ground balls (27-13), and clears (15-7).
 
Leading 13-3 at the break, the two teams traded goals over the first 17 minutes of the second half, with Western New England maintaining its ten-goal cushion (15-5). The Golden Bears shut out the visitors over the final 13 minutes, however, while Brunner, Norden, senior Bethany Peters (Baiting Hollow, N.Y.) and freshman Briana Petrucelli (Wallingford, Conn.) scored late to extend the final margin to 14.
 
Both teams will be back in action with road contests on Saturday, as the Golden Bears travel to Biddeford, Maine to take on the University of New England, and the Bison head to Milton, Mass. to face Curry.