BOSTON, Mass. (March 30, 2024) – The Western New England men's lacrosse team grabbed their first road win of the season as well as their first win in conference play on Saturday afternoon after taking down the Leopards of Wentworth Institute of Technology by a final score of 11-3.
Brian Madden helped WNE with three goals in the win, which included a seven-goal third quarter to push WNE to victory.
Records:
- Western New England: 4-5, 1-1 CCC
- Wentworth Institute: 8-3, 1-1 CCC
How it Happened:
The Golden Bears would see Wentworth fire home the first goal of the game after a caused turnover by Jack Rocchio would lead to the 15
th goal of the season by Brendan Kroll, giving Wentworth a 1-0 lead. The Golden Bears would need a save from
Carter Randall before they would march down the field and score their first goal of the game when
Jack Houlden found the back of the net on an assist from
Jacob Roy, giving
Houlden his 28
th goal of the season, tying the score at one. That goal would come with 10:11 to play in the quarter, and that would be all the scoring that would be had in the frame, seeing the score stay 1-1 after 15 minutes of play. Western New England outshot Wentworth 12-8, while
Randall made three saves for the Golden Bears in the opening quarter. WNE was a perfect 5/5 on clear attempts.
Limited offense would be had in the second quarter, though the Golden Bears would take their first lead of the game at the 11:30 mark of the frame when Brain Madden tossed home his fifth of the year on an assist from
Dylan Hanley, grabbing Western New England the 2-1 lead. Wentworth would take the next goal of the game when Jared Hillar scored his 11
thgoal of the season for the Leopards. The game would not stay tied for long as Western New England would come around with their third goal of the game when
Griffin LaRochelle would take an initial shot that went wide, though would find the target on his second attempt and give WNE a 3-2 halftime lead. Both teams attempted nine shots in the second quarter, while the Golden Bears took six shots on goal.
Carter Randall made three more saves in the second quarter, surrendering just two goals in the first half.
The Golden Bears would explode for offense in the third quarter and would quickly burry the Leopards on their home field.
Jack Houlden started the scoring flurry for the Golden Bears on another
Dylan Hanley assist, giving WNE their first two-goal lead of the game.
Chris Catuosco would win the next faceoff for WNE, scoop the ground ball, and dash right towards goal, scoring his first goal of the season just five seconds after the
Houlden goal, giving WNE a 5-2 lead. WNE would open the quarter with the first five goals, getting additional tallies from
Max Rudgers,
Brian Madden, and
James Wrynn, taking a commanding 8-2 lead before Wentworth would eventually find goal again. After the goal for WIT, Western New England would grab two goals in the final three minutes of the quarter, seeing
Zachary Mein score his eighth of the season while
Griffin LaRochelle would score his second of the afternoon, putting Western New England ahead 10-3 after three quarters. The dominant quarter would see the Golden Bears outshoot Wentworth 14-3.
The lone goal of the fourth quarter would belong to Western New England when
Brian Madden netted his third goal of the afternoon and extended WNE's lead to 11-3. Wentworth would shoot four times on goal in the fourth, looking to get back into the game, though every shot taken was swallowed in by
Carter Randall, who came away with 11 saves in the victory for the Golden Bears. WNE would outshoot WIT 8-7 in the fourth, though more importantly, they came away with an 11-3 victory.
Inside the Lines:
- A trio of Golden Bears came away with three points on the afternoon, with Brian Madden (3 G), Griffin LaRochelle (2 G, 1 A), and Dylan Hanley (3 A) helping WNE cruise to victory.
- WNE's seven-goal third-quarter performance paced the Golden Bears past Wentworth.
- WNE continued to be perfect all-time against the Leopards, now 17-0.
- The Golden Bears outshot Wentworth 43-27 and 26-14 on goal.
- Carter Randall made 11 saves for WNE, while WIT's Tom Gardner made 15 saves, though allowed 11 goals.
Up Next on the Schedule:
- The Golden Bears stay on the road to take on cross-town rival Springfield College on Tuesday, April 3, at 7:00 p.m. from Stagg Field.
