WENHAM, Mass. (April 13, 2024) – The Western New England women's lacrosse team used a big second half, outscoring the Fighting Scots of Gordon College 12-1, to win an important Commonwealth Coast Conference game, taking the win 20-5. Mariella Biceglia led Western New England with three goals and four assists, good for seven points on the afternoon.

Records:

• Western New England: 5-8, 3-2 CCC
• Gordon College: 2-11, 0-4 CCC

How it Happened:

The Golden Bears saw Gordon get off to an early start by scoring their first goal of the game after a good clear attempt, which led to a goal by Gordon's Lilia Bailey while a player up, giving the Fighting Scots a 1-0 lead. Gordon would win the next draw control of the game, though would turn the ball over after Ally Ferraro knocked the ball out of Gordon's Brooke Roberti, which led to a goal by the Golden Bear senior when Ferraro took a pass from Mariella Biceglia to score WNE's first goal of the game, tying the score at one. WNE would score four in a row to go on a small scoring streak when goals from Emmy Burns, Ella Henry, and Lina Eves gave the Golden Bears a 4-1 lead with 5:29 to play in the first quarter. Gordon would score two quick goals in just 32 seconds of play to get back within a goal as Western New England grabbed a 4-3 lead after one quarter of play. The Golden Bears picked up 11 shots in the first half, while Gordon came around with five. WNE scooped 11 ground balls in the quarter.

With Gordon looking to tie the game again to start the second half, Western New England would hold off the Scots for much of the second quarter on the offensive end while coming away with four goals in the second quarter to take their largest lead of the game. A draw-control victory for WNE would lead to their first goal of the game when Ferraro netted her second of the game to give the Golden Bears a 5-3 lead. The Golden Bears would not waste much time throwing back-to-back goals into the back of the net with 11:40 and 10:58 left in the second quarter, as both Burns and Bicegliawould fire home goals for the road team. Biceglia would be back on the board on an assist from Lyndsey Bunnell, grabbing two goals and an assist in the opening half of the game. Both teams would take shots on goal in the frame, though Riley Franzo for WNE and Kayla Davidson for Gordon would keep the teams at bay. As they did in the first quarter, Gordon would come around with the final goal of the quarter as the Golden Bears would lead 8-4 after one half of play. Western New England would again outshoot their opponent, taking 15 shots to Gordon's four in the second frame. WNE won six of seven draw controls.

The Golden Bears would take all the momentum in the third quarter and would never look back, scoring seven goals in the quarter while Gordon failed to record a shot in the frame. Ally Ferraro started the scoring frenzy for Western New England, while Mia Celentano and Mariella Biceglia were both on the scoreboard quickly for Western New England as the Golden Bears scored four goals in the first five minutes of the third quarter, taking a 12-4 lead. Lyndsey Bunnell scored WNE's 13^th goal on a free position shot, while Celentano and Biceglia finished the scoring for the Golden Bears in the third, giving Western New England a 15-4 lead at the end of the quarter. The Golden Bears outshot Gordon 14-0 in the quarter, while the Fighting Scots turned the ball eight times in the frame.

Western New England closed out the fourth quarter with the final five of six goals to take the win over the Fighting Scots. Biceglia and Bunnell would help the Golden Bears score early goals in the quarter, while Gordon's fifth and final goal of the afternoon would come with 9:46 to play in the fourth. Lina Eves would be back on the scoreboard to give Western New England an 18-5 lead with 7:24 to play in the quarter. Abbey Francis and Allie Cyr would finish off the scoring for the Golden Bears, who took the CCC contest by a final score of 20-5.

Inside the Lines:

• Western New England outscored Gordon 12-1 in the final 30 minutes of the game after the Fighting Scots battled in the first half of the game. 
• WNE saw Mariella Biceglia score six times, a career high, while picking up one assist in the win, good for seven total points on the afternoon. 
• Ally Ferraro scored three times for WNE while picking up four assists, good for an additional seven points. Ferraro filled the scoresheet with eight shots, six on goal, while coming away with six ground balls and five caused turnovers.
• Emmy Burns, Lyndsey Bunnell, Mia Celentano, and Lina Eves all came around to help to Golden Bears on offense, recording two goals each. 
• Starting goalie Riley Franzo made four saves in the win for the Golden Bears. Faith Graveline and Emily Picolla also saw time for Western New England in the net in the victory. 
• WNE outshot Gordon 48-10 in the win while the team came away with 28 ground balls. 
• The Golden Bears won 22 draw controls of 30 possible. The Golden Bears won six of seven DCs in both the second and fourth quarters. 

Up Next on the Schedule:

• Western New England welcomes the University of Hartford to Golden Bear Stadium for the first meeting between the two teams on Tuesday, April 16 at 4:00 pm.