SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (April 20, 2024) – The Western New England women's lacrosse team came away with a big CCC victory on Saturday afternoon for seeding purposes in the upcoming CCC tournament, with the Golden Bears coming away with an 18-11 victory over the Nor'easters of the University of New England.

Records:

• Western New England: 6-10, 4-2 CCC
• University of New England: 5-9, 3-3 CCC

How it Happened:

Western New England began their attack on the Nor'easters right away, scoring the first goal of the game just five minutes into the contest when Mia Celentano found the back of the net for the Golden Bears, giving Western New England a quick 1-0 lead. Less than a minute and a half later, WNE would find twine again when Emmy Burns took a pass from Ally Ferraro to give the Golden Bears a 2-0 lead. The Nor'easters would get on the board for the first time in the quarter just 46 seconds after the Burns goal when Meagan Donovan found the back of the net on a free position goal, cutting WNE's lead in half. Both teams would use their defense and good goaltending down the stretch, as the Golden Bears saw Riley Franzo come away with five saves in the first quarter.

An explosive second quarter would see Western New England outscore the Nor'easters 7-1 and take a 9-2 lead out of the half. Julia Roman would be first on the board for the Golden Bears, earning her first goal of the season just 59 seconds into the quarter, giving WNE their two lead goal back. Mia Celentano would be back on the scoresheet when the junior took a pass from Abbey Francis and netted it to give WNE a 4-1 lead. UNE would score their lone goal of the quarter with just under 12 minutes left to play in the frame. The Golden Bears would score the final five goals of the quarter to come away with a massive seven-goal lead at half. Celentano netted four total goals in the quarter, while Mariella Biceglia and Lina Eves would join in on the scoring for the Golden Bears, giving Western New England a 9-2 lead. 11 shots would come from the Golden Bears in the second quarter, while UNE came away with just six shots. Franzo made two saves for WNE in the second.

Western New England continued to be explosive on the offensive end in the third quarter, scoring five more goals to open up their lead in the frame. After UNE grabbed the first goal of the half, Western New England would rip off the next four goals, seeing Ally Ferraro, Mia Celentano, and Emmy Burns come away with goals for the Golden Bears, giving Western New England a ten-goal lead with 7:10 to play in the third quarter, 13-3. UNE would get back within seven goals, scoring three straight goals in under two minutes at the end of the third quarter, though Ally Ferraro would come away with a goal for WNE with four seconds to play in the quarter, which gave Western New England a 14-6 lead. Faith Graveline, who replaced Franzo to open the third quarter, came away with three saves for the Golden Bears.

The two teams would combine for nine more goals in the final quarter of play, with Western New England scoring four goals in the quarter to push themselves to victory. Mia Celentano came away with her seventh tally of the game and her 100^th goal of her career, giving the Golden Bears a 15-7 lead. The Golden Bears would
lead by as many as nine goals with 4:25 to play in the quarter when Biceglia was back on the board, giving WNE a 17-8 lead. The Nor'easters came around with the last two goals of the game, though the blue and gold would take the victory over UNE, defeating the Nor'easters 18-11.

Inside the Lines:

• Mia Celentano scored seven times for the Golden Bears, grabbing her 100^th career goal in the process. The junior took ten shots, placing seven on goal while coming away with two ground balls and four caused turnovers.
• Ally Ferraro scored four times and picked up two assists, good for six points on the afternoon.
• Riley Franzo and Faith Graveline split time between the pipes for Western New England on Saturday, seeing the two combine for 13 saves on senior day.
• UNE won 21 of the 30 draw controls on Saturday.
• Western New England honored their senior class prior to today's game. Congratulations, Faith Graveline, Ally Ferraro, Riley Franzo, Alexa Paoli, Julia Roman, and Emmy Burns!

Up Next on the Schedule:

• The Golden Bears close the regular season on Wednesday, April 24 at 4:00 p.m., traveling to Nichols College. Following the game, the Golden Bears will find out their seeding and opponent for the CCC Tournament.