BEVERLY, Mass. (April 9, 2016) - The No. 17 nationally ranked Western New England University men's lacrosse team outscored Endicott College 6-2 in another strong second half performance, as the Golden Bears secured a 12-10 victory over their rivals this afternoon in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) action at Hempstead Stadium.
 
Trailing 8-6 at the half, Western New England (8-3, 4-0 CCC) scored three goals in the third quarter while shutting out Endicott (4-7, 3-1 CCC). The Golden Bears tacked on three more goals in the fourth and limited the Gulls to two, earning an impressive road victory.
 
Western New England's balanced offensive effort featured five multi-point performers, led by juniors Justin Bard (Westfield, Mass.) and Keegan Dudeck (Longmeadow, Mass.), who recorded six points each with three goals and three assists. Senior Jon Bota (Mahopac, N.Y.) added three goals, while classmate Taylor Dubose (Altamont, N.Y.) chipped in with three assists. Freshman Jared Ward (Littleton, Mass.) also played a key role in the triumph with a pair of third quarter goals.
 
Defensively, juniors Steven Patrie (Lewiston, Maine) and Cameron Purcell (Sacramento, Calif.) caused two turnovers each, while sophomore goalie Steven Kerr (Hopkinton, Mass.) made 14 saves in the cage.
 
In a battle of two of the top faceoff specialists in the CCC, senior David Cedrone (Yantic, Conn.) went 12-of-25 (48%) at the X against Endicott junior Tommy Hughes (Coram, N.Y.).
 
The Gulls were led by junior Will Jennings (Danvers, Mass.), who scored a game-high six goals. Seniors Peter Field Jr. (Hampstead, N.H.) and Mitchell Tapley (Falmouth, Maine) contributed two points each.
 
Bard opened the scoring for the Golden Bears with his 26^th goal of the season just 1:42 into the contest, but Endicott answered with two quick, unassisted tallies from Jennings to take a 2-1 lead. Bard notched his second of the game at the 9:15 mark to tie the score, and each team posted 2-0 runs later in the period as the first quarter ended knotted at four.
 
Tapley and Jennings helped Endicott regain the lead with goals early in the second, but the tightly contested game saw Western New England pull even at 6-6 following goals by Dudeck and Bard, respectively. The Gulls would take a 6-4 lead into the break, however, as freshman Kenneth Speak (Melbourne, Australia) and Jennings scored late in the period.
 
As they have done several times already this spring, the Golden Bears took over the game in the third quarter. Fueled by Cedrone's 4-for-4 effort at the X in the period, Western New England dominated possession, limiting Endicott to just two shots.
 
Dudeck brought the Golden Bears back to within a goal with his 14^th of the season at the 10:19 mark, and Ward netted the equalizer with 6:34 left in the third. The freshman then gave Western New England a 9-8 lead with a man-up goal later in the quarter, before Hughes tied the score for the final time early in the fourth with his 49^th goal of the season.
 
With the score still tied and under six minutes remaining, Bota came through with the go-ahead goal on a feed from Dubose, and added another two minutes later to give the Golden Bears an 11-9 edge. Dudeck then tacked on one final goal with just under three minutes remaining, and Western New England limited the Gulls to one goal the rest of the way to secure the victory.
 
Both teams will be back in action on Tuesday, as the Golden Bears return home to host Nichols, and Endicott hits the road for a tough test at No. 3 Tufts.