DUDLEY, Mass. (April 24, 2024) – The Western New England women's lacrosse team opened the first half with the first nine of ten goals, which proved to be enough to hold on late, taking down the hosting Bison of Nichols College by a final score of 13-9.

Records:

• Western New England: 7-10, 5-2 CCC
• Nichols College: 12-5, 3-4 CCC

How it Happened:

Western New England started the scoring early, grabbing a goal on their first possession of the game when Emmy Burns found a cutting Ally Ferraor, who fired home WNE's first goal of the game, giving the Golden Bears a 1-0 lead. Lyndsey Bunnell was the next Golden Bear to score, grabbing a goal just 1:08 after Ferraro, putting the Golden Bears ahead 2-0. Nichols would get their first goal, and what turned out to be their only goal of the first half, with 12:55 to play in the first quarter when McKenzie Muir was on the board to cut WNE's lead in half, 2-1. From there, it would be all Golden Bears as Western New England would take control of the scoring. Ally Ferraro and Mia Celentano would add two more goals each, giving the Golden Bears a 6-1 lead at the end of the first quarter. WNE outshot Nichols 8-6 in the opening quarter, while Riley Franzo came away with two saves on Nichols in the opening frame.

The Golden Bears would come around with the only three goals of the second quarter, taking a commanding 9-1 lead over Nichols at the break. Ella Henry would find the back of the net on a free position goal for WNE's first goal of the half with 10:25 remaining. Henry was back on the board when Ally Ferraro found the sophomore cutting to the net, taking a big shot that beat Nichols's Briar Slattery, extending Western New England's lead to 8-1. The Golden Bears would score their three goals in quick succession in the frame, as Lina Eves finished off the second half of scoring for Western New England when Mia Celentano picked up the assist on the goal from the sophomore, giving the Golden Bears a 9-1 lead after 30 minutes of play. Franzo allowed just one goal in the opening half while making four saves in the second quarter. Western New England came away with nine shots in the second quarter.

The Golden Bears scored the first goal of the third quarter when Mariella Biceglia scored her first goal of the afternoon, giving the Golden Bears a 10-1 lead. Nichols would find their offensive game by scoring three goals in a row, when Emma Patton and McKenzie Muir combined to get Nichols back in the game, with the Bison getting within six of the Golden Bears, 10-4 with 4:04 to play. The Golden Bears would break Nichols's scoring streak when Ferraro was back on the scoresheet, getting Western New England their 11^th goal of the night. Nichols would score late in the third to pick up their fifth goal of the night, as the Golden Bears would take an 11-5 lead with 15 minutes left in the contest.

The Bison would score just 58 seconds into the fourth quarter as the home team looked to build momentum to force a comeback in the CCC game. Western New England would not let that happen, seeing Ally Ferraro and Mia Celentano take over again for the Golden Bears, both grabbing goals to take a 13-7 lead over the Bison with 8:08 to play. Ferraro's fifth and final goal of the contest proved to be the 100th in her career, becoming the second Golden Bear to reach that feat this season, joining teammate Mia Celentano. Nichols would attempt to claw back into the game late, scoring back-to-back goals, though it would not be enough, as the Golden Bears would put together a defensive stand late in the game to hold Nichols off the board and give Western New England a 13-9 victory, closing out the regular season with a 5-2 CCC record.

Inside the Lines:

• Ally Ferraro led Western New England on the evening with five goals while picking up two assists, good for seven points in the game. The senior took nine shots, putting six on goal while grabbing two draw control wins for WNE. Her fifth goal of the game was the 100th of her career. 
• Mia Celentano helped Western New England with three goals and an assist, good for four points. The junior came up with seven shots on goal, two ground balls, one caused turnover, and six DC wins.
• Ella Henry and Lyndsey Bunnell both recorded three points in the victory for the Golden Bears.
• Riley Franzo made nine saves for the Golden Bears to pick up the win between the pipes.
• The Golden Bears outshot Nichols 34-26 in the game and were perfect on clear attempts, going 18/18.
• Western New England has now defeated Nichols in 16 straight meetings.

Up Next on the Schedule:

• With the win, Western New England locks up the third seed in the upcoming CCC Tournament and will take on sixth-seeded Curry College on Saturday, April 27 at 1:00 PM in the CCC First Round Game, with the winner advancing to the second-seeded Gulls of Endicott on Wednesday, May 1.