Springfield, Mass. (April 2, 2024) – The Golden Bear Men's Lacrosse team traveled to the other side of town for a showdown with Springfield College. The teams would each score three goals in the first quarter before the Golden Bears outscored the Pride 4-2 in the second to take a 7-5 halftime lead. The Springfield College Pride and Jake Degnan would score five goals in the third to take a one-goal lead into the final quarter of play. Then, although the Golden Bears would be within one goal multiple times during the fourth quarter, Springfield College would fend them off and win the game 14-13. Dylan Hanley led the Golden Bears with six points. Jake Degnan and Mason Nocito each had six points for Springfield College. 

Records:

Western New England: 4-6 (1-1)

Springfield College: 2-8 (1-2)

How it Happened:

The game started with Carter Randall and Kaden Quirk in goal for the Golden Bears and Pride, respectively. The teams would each have chances on offense before the first goal was scored. The Golden Bears would get the scoring started with a goal on their fourth possession of the game. Nicholas Campagnone found Jacob Roy for the goal 3:16 into the game. Jake Degnan responded with a quick equalizer thirty-seven seconds later. Just under a minute later, Matt Webb received a pass from Mason Nocito and found the netting to give the Pride the lead. Just over two minutes later, Jake Degnan doubled the Pride lead. Degnan received an assist from Bryan Stensrud on the goal. The Golden Bears took that quick hit from Springfield College and answered. With 5:04 left in the first, Nicholas Campagnone found Zachary Mein for the goal. Springfield College was then called for a penalty, but the Golden Bears could not capitalize. With 2:47 left in the first, Dylan Hanley found Thomas Labbe, and the game was tied 3-3. That is how the score would stay after one quarter of play. The stat line showed eleven shots for WNE compared to nine from Springfield College. The Pride had more saves 7-2 and more ground balls picked up 12-11. Both teams had three faceoff wins. 

The second quarter started similarly, with turnovers from both teams. However, this time, it was the Pride with the first goal of the quarter. Kevin Tierney netted the goal for the Pride. After Springfield College owned much of the possession, Jacob Roy netted a second goal to tie the game 4-4. Carter Randall would make a save on the following Springfield College possession, which led to a Thomas Labbe goal, assisted by Dylan Hanley. The Golden Bears were back in the lead. With 5:12 left in the half, Gage Sperlonga found the back of the net for a goal. With 3:44 left in the second, the Pride were called for a penalty. Again, the Golden Bears were prevented from capitalizing on the man-up opportunity. However, with under a minute left in the half, the Golden Bears got a few crucial goals at the time. Dylan Hanley found Jack Houlden with forty-eight seconds left, and Zachary Mein found Jacob Roy with twenty seconds left. The Golden Bears led 7-5 at halftime. The first-half stats showed the Pride lead in shots 17-16, saves 8-4, and faceoffs won 7-6. Both teams had picked up twenty ground balls. 

The third quarter saw Springfield College march back into the lead. The Golden Bears would extend their lead 3:07 into the second half via a Jack Houlden goal, assisted by Dylan Hanley. However, Kevin Tierney answered thirty-eight seconds later. Then, a thirty-second penalty was called on the Pride. The Golden Bears would not score but gained momentum on the man-up opportunity and scored a little after it expired. James Wrynn found the back of the goal to push the lead back up to three. This is when Springfield College started a four-goal run. With 8:03 left in the quarter, Mason Nocito found Jake Degnan for a goal. Vincent Scialdone would win the ensuing faceoff and pass it to Degnan, who scored five seconds after the previous goal. With the Golden Bears leading by one goal, the Pride kept sending shots at goal, and eventually, the equalizing goal made it past the WNE goalie. The Pride finished the quarter with a goal with nine seconds left in the quarter. Mason Nocito scored, and the Pride went into the final quarter with a 10-9 lead. Stats for the third quarter saw the teams equal in shots 8-8. The Pride led in saves 4-2, faceoffs won 6-2, and ground balls 7-5. 

The fourth and final quarter began with a goal from Springfield College 1:53 into the quarter. Mason Nocito found Bryan Stensrud to push the lead to 11-9. Thomas Labbe answered forty-nine seconds later for the Golden Bears. Six seconds after that, Vincent Scialdone found Degnan again for a goal. Fifty-five seconds after that, Dylan Hanley found Brian Madden for a goal. It was back-and-forth action. Whenever the Golden Bears closed the two-goal Springfield College lead, the Pride would double the lead once again. That is exactly what happened with 9:42 left in the game. Jake Degnan found Bryan Stensrud for a goal, which pushed the lead to 13-11. Dylan Hanley answered with 7:59 remaining. However, Mason Nocito doubled the lead once again for the Pride. Bryan Stensrud had the assist. With 3:49, it was Brian Madden who cut the lead to one; however, the Golden Bears were not able to equalize. Nicholas Campagnone would get a pass right in front of the goal with eighteen seconds left in the game. However, Kaden Quirk made a big save, which sealed the victory for Springfield College. The final stat line showed the Pride lead in shots 33-32, saves 14-8, ground balls 38-33, and faceoffs 17-13. The Golden Bears fell to the Springfield College Pride, 14-13. 

Inside The Crease:

• The Golden Bears visited Springfield College for a nonconference matchup with the Pride.
• Dylan Hanley led the Golden Bears with six points (one goal and five assists).
• Thomas Labbe and Jacob Roy each had a hat-trick of goals for the Golden Bears. 
• Jake Degnan and Mason Nocito each had six points to lead Springfield College (five goals and an assist for Degnan, and three goals and three assists for Nocito).
• Connor Roberts and Dominic Pellegrino each caused three turnovers for the Pride.
• Carter Randall made eight saves for the Golden Bears.
• Kaden Quirk made 14 saves to earn the win for Springfield College.
• Springfield College beat WNE 14-13. 

• The Golden Bears have their next game on Saturday, April 6, 2024, at 3:00 PM. They will take on Curry College in Milton, Massachusetts.
• The Pride will take on Clark University at home, at Stagg Field. The game will be on Saturday, April 6, 2024, at 1:00 PM.