SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (February 23, 2025) – The Western New England women's lacrosse team fell in the season opener at home from Golden Bear Stadium as the Pride of Springfield College defeated the Golden Bears by a final score of 15-0. Emily Picolla made 13 saves on the afternoon but the Golden Bears would not be able to come up with a goal. 

Records:

• Western New England: 0-1
• Springfield College: 1-0

How it Happened:

The Pride opened the game with the first goal just 55 seconds in, as Springfield's Sarah Newton collected the goal, the first of the season overall for the Pride, giving SC a 1-0 lead. Western New England would have trouble in the early goings getting the ball past the restraining line, failing on clear attempts while the Pride would take advantage of their opportunities. Samantha Anderson was next to score for the Pride, which gave Springfield the 2-0 edge. Western New England's first shot on goal came from Lina Eves with 9:02 to play in the opening quarter but Eves would be denied by Kate Laico, who made the start for Springfield College. Emily Picolla would do all she could between the pipes to keep Western New England in the game, making five saves in the opening quarter but the Springfield offense would be too much to handle for the Golden Bears. Springfield would score four goals in the final four minutes of the opening quarter which quickly opened a 7-0 lead after one-quarter of play. The Pride outshot Western New England 16-4 in the first quarter. 

Mia Celentano would open the second quarter with a draw-control win followed up by a shot that went just wide of the net as WNE searched for their first goal of the game. Celetano would get a free-position chance but would not find the back of the goal as Laico made the save for Springfield College. SC scored their eighth goal of the game when Lily Vey was on the scoreboard, giving the Pride an 8-0 lead. Picolla would make two saves for Western New England in the second quarter. The Pride would come up with three more goals in the second quarter and took a 10-0 lead at the half. Springfield took seven shots in the second quarter overall. 

WNE would not be able to find their scoring game in the third quarter, seeing the Pride add three additional goals to their total while the Golden Bears were held scoreless again. WNE did pick up seven shots in the frame, with three on goal, but all saved. Megan Spedaliere, Mariella Biceglia, and Abbey Francis picked up shots on goal for Western New England. 

The Pride ended the game with two more goals while WNE would take just one shot on goal in the final 15 minutes and would be downed by a final score of 15-0 in the game. Springfield took eight shots in the final frame and was 5/5 on their clearing attempts. 

Inside the Lines:

• Emily Picolla led the Golden Bears in net on Sunday afternoon, making 13 saves overall. 
• Mia Celentano and Mariella Biceglia took two shots on goal each for WNE but could not find the scoring touch. 
• Springfield College was led by Lilly Johnson, who scored a goal and had three assists on the afternoon. Samantha Anderson put up four points as well, three goals and an assist. 
• Springfield outshot WNE 36-16 overall in the game. Western New England struggled on their clearing attempts, going just 12/22. 
• Ella Nish scooped four ground balls to lead WNE. 

Up Next on the Schedule:

• The Golden Bears return home on Saturday, March 1 for a 1:00 PM start against Smith College.