SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (April. 27, 2024) – The third-seeded Western New England women's lacrosse team grabbed nine goals in the first quarter and never looked back, taking down the sixth seeded Colonels of Curry College by a final score of 19-3. Ella Henry and Mia Celentano helped WNE with four goals and one assist each.

Records:

• No. 3 Western New England: 8-10
• No. 6 Curry College: 6-12

How it Happened:

The Golden Bears opened the game with a caused turnover coming from Emmy Burns after Curry would come away with the first possession of the game. Ally Ferraro would come away with the ground ball and race right towards goal, opening the scoring for the Golden Bears and giving Western New England a 1-0 lead. Curry would put together their best offensive sequence following the goal from Ferraro, though the Western New England defense would be unstoppable on Saturday afternoon, while goalie Riley Franzo would make a save to keep the Colonels off the board. Western New England would find their groove and score eight goals in the final nine minutes of the opening quarter to take a 9-0 lead. Goals from Ella Henry, Mia Celentano, Ally Ferraro, Abbey Francis, and Lyndsey Bunnell would give the Golden Bears the big lead after one quarter. The Golden Bears outshot Curry 20-4 in the opening 15 minutes, while Curry's Zoe Ratcliffe made six saves in the opening quarter.

Western New England would continue to score as Emmy Burns was on the board for the first time in the game, giving WNE a ten-goal lead just 52 seconds into the second frame. WNE continued to score when Mia Celentano scored back-to-back goals for WNE to take a 12-0 lead. Curry would get on the board for the first time in the game with 4:35 left in the frame when Casey Conneely picked up an assist from Ellie Hardman and fired a shot past Franzo to get the Colonels their first of the game, trailing 12-1. Ella Henry ended the second quarter with a goal for the Golden Bears to regain the 12-goal lead, a lead Western New England took into the third quarter of play, outscoring Curry 4-1 in the second quarter. WNE outshot Curry 8-3 in the frame, while Riley Franzo came away with two saves for the Golden Bears.

Ally Ferraro was the first to score to open the third quarter of play, taking advantage of a Curry turnover and slotting her third goal of the game into the back of the net. Curry's Ellie Hardman would give Curry their second goal of the game after Curry's Ratcliffe made a save on the Golden Bears. The Colonels would march down the field, and Hardman would fire a goal into the back of the net. Western New England would again grab the late goal in the third quarter when Ella Henry found Emmy Burns cutting towards goal, picking up the 15^th goal of the game for WNE. Curry matched WNE in shots in the third quarter, with both teams coming away with five.

The Golden Bears would score four of the final five goals in the fourth quarter, with Burns opening the scoring on a free-position shot. Curry would score their third and final goal of the afternoon at the 12:11 mark, trailing by 13 goals. Western New England would finish the game with the final three goals as Allie Cyr, Ella Henry, and Abbey Francis would collect goals to wrap up the victory for Western New England as the Golden Bears would defeat Curry by a final score of 19-3, advancing to the CCC Semifinal round.

Inside the Lines:

• Western New England would see six goal scorers record at least two goals in the game. Ella Henry and Mia Celentano led the way with four goals, while Ally Ferraro, Emmy Burns, Abbey Francis, and Lyndsey Bunnell all put up multiple goals.
• The Golden Bears registered six goals on free-position shots.
• Riley Franzo made seven saves in the victory, while Emily Picolla made two saves in relief, playing 16 minutes in between the pipes.
• The Golden Bears took 41 shots to Curry's 15 in the contest. WNE was 12/14 on clear attempts, while Curry was just 7/17.
• Mia Celentano and Megan Spedaliere led the way with a combined five caused turnovers.
• The two teams split draw controls, winning 13 each.

Up Next on the Schedule:

• The third-seeded Golden Bears head to second-seeded Endicott College on Wednesday, May 1, for the CCC Semifinal round.