SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (April 26, 2016) - The No. 14 nationally ranked Western New England University men's lacrosse team capped its regular season with a 22-14 senior night victory over Gordon College this evening in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) action at Golden Bear Stadium.
 
Western New England (13-3, 8-0 CCC), which has now won nine consecutive games dating back to March 31, earns a first round bye in the upcoming CCC Tournament and will host a semifinal round matchup on Wednesday, May 4. Gordon sees its season come to a close at 1-14 overall and 1-7 in conference play.
 
The Golden Bears were led offensively by junior Justin Bard (Westfield, Mass.) and sophomore Michael Wood (Southborough, Mass.), who recorded ten points each. Bard, a three-time CCC Offensive Player of the Week this spring, now has two ten-point performances in his last three games and three overall this season after scoring four goals and adding six assists tonight. Wood's five goals and five assists both represent career-highs, with his previous career-best for points (three) coming in last Wednesday's win over Curry.
 
Also turning in a new career-high for Western New England was sophomore Nicholas Beauchamp (Wilbraham, Mass.), who finished with four points on three goals and one assist.
 
Senior James Kolesar (Warwick, N.Y.) was among eight Golden Bears to post a multi-point performance with three (two goals, one assist), while also collecting five ground balls and causing three turnovers.
 
Five-time defending CCC-Specialist of the Week David Cedrone (Yantic, Conn.) went 5-for-8 in limited duty at the faceoff X and also scored his second career goal.
 
Making his first start of the season in the cage, senior Jimmy Chase (Beverly, Mass.) made eight saves to earn the win.
 
Senior Jake Martin (Watertown, Conn.) and sophomore Nico Manganiello (Peabody, Mass.) paced the Fighting Scots with six points each, while senior Roger Evans (Oxford, Pa.) recorded a hat trick and freshman Austin Early (Palmyra, Va.) dished out a pair of assists.
 
After the two teams traded goals early, Bard scored on a feed from Wood with 5:35 remaining in the first quarter to spark a 5-0 run that saw the Golden Bears claim a 7-3 advantage by the end of the period.
 
Gordon was able to stay within striking distance throughout the first half, trailing by just two (8-6) following Manganiello's first goal of the night with 4:37 remaining in the second quarter.
 
Western New England closed the half on a 2-0 run, however, and also scored the first two goals of the second half to open up a 12-6 lead early in the third quarter. The Golden Bears outscored the Fighting Scots 8-4 in the third, and led 18-10 heading into the final period.
 
Gordon was unable to get closer than six the rest of the way, as Beauchamp's two fourth quarter goals helped extend the final margin to eight.