BRISTOL, R.I. (April 6, 2016) - The No. 17 nationally ranked Western New England University men's lacrosse team overcame a 5-1 halftime deficit with another dominant second half performance, rallying to earn an 11-7 victory over Roger Williams University this evening in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) action at Bayside Field.
 
Trailing by four at the break, the Golden Bears claimed their first lead late in the third quarter after outscoring the Hawks 5-0 in the period. Western New England (7-3, 3-0 CCC) eventually stretched its lead to five (10-5) with six minutes remaining in the game, and held on for the win to remain perfect in conference play. Roger Williams drops to 7-4 (3-1 CCC) with the loss.
 
Senior midfielder Patrick Dillon (Baldwin, N.Y.) led the Golden Bears with a season-high five points, scoring four goals on nine shots to go with one assist. Senior Taylor Dubose (Altamont, N.Y.), juniors Justin Bard (Westfield, Mass.) and Keegan Dudeck (Longmeadow, Mass.) and freshman Jared Ward (Littleton, Mass.) also played key roles in Western New England's second half surge, recording two points each.
 
Two-time defending CCC Specialist of the Week David Cedrone (Yantic, Conn.) went 16-for-22 (72.7%) at the faceoff X and recovered a team-high 15 ground balls, while sophomore goalie Steven Kerr (Hopkinton, Mass.) made 11 saves in the cage.
 
Senior Will Siefert (Duxbury, Mass.) and sophomore Justin MacIntyre (Norwalk, Conn.) paced the Roger Williams offense with two goals each, while senior Nick Gagnon (Milton, Mass.) dished out three assists.
 
The first quarter featured just one goal, as senior Cam Donnelly (Medfield, Mass.) staked the Hawks to a 1-0 lead late in the period on a feed from sophomore Eddie Hill (Somers, Conn.). The Western New England offense was kept in check throughout the first half, with Dillon producing the team's lone goal at the 8:25 mark of the second quarter.
 
As they have done several times this season, however, the Golden Bears stepped up in the second half and took control of the contest. Dillon set up Dubose 1:29 into the third quarter, and Western New England was back to within one (5-4) after goals by junior Max Berteletti (Montgomery, N.J.) and Bard midway through the period. Senior Jon Bota (Mahopac, N.Y.) scored the equalizer at the 5:47 mark, and Bard struck again for the goal that would stand as the game-winner with just under four minutes left in the quarter.
 
The Golden Bears continued to roll in the fourth, as senior Stephen Gair (Putnam Valley, N.Y.) netted his third of the season and Dillon followed with three straight goals, giving the visitors a 10-5 advantage with 6:01 to play. Junior John Lisitano (Guilford, Conn.) put an end to Western New England's 9-0 run just 29 seconds later, but Roger Williams was unable to get closer than four goals the rest of the way.
 
The Golden Bears outshot the Hawks 41-33, and also held an advantage in ground balls (51-36) and faceoffs (16-6) while going 12-for-13 in clearing opportunities.
 
Both teams will be back in action on Saturday, as Western New England hits the road again to face Endicott, and Roger Williams remains at home to host Trinity.