SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (April 20, 2016) - Western New England University head men's lacrosse coach John Klepacki earned his 200^th career victory this evening as the No. 15 nationally ranked Golden Bears rolled to an 18-7 triumph over Curry College in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) action.
 
Now in his 15^th season at the helm of the Western New England lacrosse program, Klepacki owns a career record of 200-79 (.717). His impressive tenure includes five CCC Tournament titles and seven trips to the NCAA Division III Tournament.
 
With tonight's win, the Golden Bears extend their winning streak to seven games and improve to 7-0 in CCC play (11-3 overall). Curry drops to 1-5 in the CCC and 9-5 overall with the setback.
 
Junior Justin Bard (Westfield, Mass.) fueled the potent Western New England attack, matching his career-high with ten points (six goals, four assists) on a game-high 12 shots. Sophomore Michael Wood (Southborough, Mass.) registered his first career hat trick, while seniors Mike Jednak (Franklin, Mass.) and Jon Bota (Mahopac, N.Y.) and freshman Jared Ward (Littleton, Mass.) all chipped in with three points each.
 
Four-time defending CCC Specialist of the Week David Cedrone (Yantic, Conn.) turned in another impressive effort at the faceoff X, going 16-for-22 (72%) primarily against Curry sophomore Steven Grogan (Sandwich, Mass.). Cedrone also recovered a game-high 13 ground balls, leading the Golden Bears to a 37-24 advantage in the category.
 
Sophomore goalie Steven Kerr (Hopkinton, Mass.) made nine saves in the cage, while his counterpart, Curry junior Shane O'Brien (East Falmouth, Mass.) stopped ten shots.
 
Junior Jack McMenomey (West Linn, Ore.) was among a trio of Colonels to record two points with one goal and one assist, while Grogan picked up a team-high seven ground balls and sophomore Chris Bronander (Glen Ridge, N.J.) caused two turnovers.
 
Curry scored first and led 2-1 after senior Joseph Shea's (Arlington, Mass.) unassisted goal at the 8:15 mark of the first quarter, but the Golden Bears answered with a 9-0 run to take control of the contest. Bard scored five goals and dished out a pair of assists during the run, which started midway through the first quarter and was capped by senior James Kolesar's (Warwick, N.Y.) second goal of the season with 9:31 remaining in the second.

Western New England, which led by seven (11-4) at the break, saw Curry pull within six (12-6) early in the third quarter before putting the game out of reach with a 5-0 run.
 
In addition to their advantage at the faceoff X, the Golden Bears outshot the Colonels 48-28 (28-18 on goal) and were successful clearing on all 17 attempts.
 
With just two games remaining in the regular season, Western New England heads to Herkimer, N.Y. on Friday for a key non-conference clash against No. 19 ranked Nazareth at Herkimer Community College. Opening faceoff is slated for 6 p.m.