Babson Park, Mass. (March 9, 2024) – The men's lacrosse team traveled to Babson Park, Massachusetts, on Saturday, looking to rebound after their loss at Bowdoin College on Wednesday. The Golden Bears took on the Beavers of Babson College. The Golden Bears would have a quick start and get out to a 3-0 lead. However, the Beavers would finish the half on a 5-1 run to give them a 5-4 lead at halftime. The Beavers would outscore the Golden Bears 10-7 in the second half to win the game 15-11. Jack Houlden led the Golden Bears with five goals. Dylan Hanley led the team in assists with five. 

Records:

• Western New England: 2-3 (0-0)
• Babson College: 3-2 (0-0)

How it Happened:

The game started with Carter Randall and Alex Fascilla in goal for the Golden Bears and Beavers, respectively. The Golden Bears got the scoring started 1:36 into the opening quarter. Dylan Hanley found Zachary Mein for the goal. After some back-and-forth play from the teams, James Wrynn netted an unassisted goal to double the WNE lead. Six seconds later, Zachary Mein tripled the lead. 1:36 later, the Beavers got on the board thanks to a Jacob Tauss goal. That was Tauss' ninth goal of the season. The teams went back and forth for a long period of time before Topher Bower got the Beavers their second goal of the game off the assist from Seamus Bower. Neither team was able to net another goal, and the score was 3-2 Golden Bears after the first quarter finished. The Golden Bears outshot the Beavers 9-8 and had more ground balls 11-7. The Beavers had more saves, 3-2, and both teams won three faceoffs.

The second quarter saw the Beavers outscore the Golden Bears 3-1. It started with Jared Rainville scoring thirty-one seconds into the second. Bennett Smith had the assist. The teams went back and forth with neither goalie conceding a goal. With 7:16 left in the first half, the Golden Bears were called for a penalty. The Beavers could not capitalize on the man-up opportunity. The Beavers were also called for a penalty with 4:21 left in the half. The Golden Bears were not able to get a goal during the man-up opportunity. However, soon after it was over, the Beavers notched their fourth goal of the game thanks to Seamus Rooney's seventeenth goal of the season. The Golden Bears answered 29 seconds later. Joseph Bussinelli received the ball from Dylan Hanley and scored. With 1:55 left in the first half, the Beavers were called for a penalty. The Golden Bears had a shot blocked on the man-up opportunity but could not get a goal. With twelve seconds remaining in the half, Jared Rainville netted a second goal to give the Beavers a 5-4 lead entering halftime. At the break, the Golden Bears led in shots 20-19, faceoffs won 7-4, and ground balls 21-13. The Beavers had more saves, 9-4. 

The Beavers jumped to a four-goal lead within the opening 1:40 of the third quarter. Bennett Smith found Jared Rainville for the first goal. Smith then found Jacob Tauss to push the lead to 7-4. Finally, Smith would get the third goal of the third quarter, and the Beavers led 8-4. Jack Houlden and James Wrynn would keep the Golden Bears in the game. Brian Madden found Houlden to cut the deficit to three. James Wrynn netted the next goal for the Golden Bears unassisted to cut the Beavers' lead to 8-6. A little over two minutes later, Houlden netted another goal. Dylan Hanley assisted this one, and the Golden Bears were down by one. The teams went back and forth without a goal for a while. The Beavers ended that stretch with a goal from Connor Karsh, assisted by Jack Feeks. The Beavers led 9-7. The Beavers finished the third with two more goals to push their lead to 11-7. Jared Rainville scored off an assist from Michael Bazzano. Rainville scored again with ten seconds remaining in the third to push the lead to four goals. Jacob Tauss was credited with assisting that goal. After three quarters, Babson had the lead 11-7, with both teams having eight shots during the third. The Beavers had more ground balls 11-6, faceoffs won 6-4, and saves 2-1 during the quarter. 

Forty-three seconds into the fourth quarter, the Golden Bears cut the lead to three. Jack Houlden got a pass from Dylan Hanley and put the ball into the net. Babson was then called for a penalty shortly after. Unfortunately, no goal for the Golden Bears during the man-up opportunity. Rowan Mondello restored the four-goal lead after an assist from Jared Rainville. Seamus Rooney scored just over a minute later, and the Golden Bears were down five. With 8:08 left in the game, Ford Carney found Camden Matthews to give the Beavers a six-goal lead. The Beavers then were called for a penalty, which led to a man-up goal from Thomas Labbe. That goal was quickly countered by one from Jared Rainville, and the Beavers led 15-9. It would take a little while, but the Golden Bears would get into double figures with a goal from Jack Houlden after the assist from Dylan Hanley. Houlden would score the final goal of the game with a second remaining off the assist from Gregory Perry. The Golden Bears would fall to the Beavers 15-11. The final stat line saw the Golden Bears lead in shots 38-36 and caused turnovers 15-11. The Beavers picked up more ground balls by a score of 35-32. They also had more saves, 14-6. Both teams won fifteen faceoffs. 

Inside the Crease:

• The Golden Bears took on Babson College in non-conference action on Saturday.
• Jack Houlden led the Golden Bears in goals with five.
• Dylan Hanley led WNE with five assists. 
• Jared Rainville notched five goals and an assist from the Beavers.
• Alex Fascilla made 14 saves for the Beavers. 
• The Beavers won the game 15-11.

Up Next on the Schedule:

• The Golden Bears have a break until their Spring Break game in Wingate, North Carolina. They will take on Nazareth College on Tuesday, March 19, at noon.
• The Beavers host #6 Middlebury College on Sunday, March 10. That game will be played at 1:00 PM.