CHESTER, Pa. (March 12, 2025) – The Western New England men's lacrosse team played in a rare afternoon weekday game on Wednesday on the road, taking on the Pride of Widener University, defeating them by a final score of 13-6. Logan Jenkins picked up three goals and added four assists while Jack Houlden came alive with four goals for Western New England. 

Records:

• Western New England: 2-4
• Widener University: 1-5

How it Happened:

Just one goal would be seen in the first 15 minutes of play, but there would be plenty of chances for both teams to come away with an advantage in the game. Jonathon Salsbury came up with a save just 50 seconds into the game that kept Widener off the scoreboard. Thomas Labbe has Western New England's first shot on goal, coming with eight minutes remaining in the opening quarter but the Pride's Keegan Billie would make the save. The first goal of the game would come after a Western New England turnover on a shot clock violation while the Pride were able to get a successful clear and picked up a goal from Matt Buckley, giving Widener a 1-0 lead. Widener would win the ensuing faceoff and get another chance at goal by Salsbury would come up big for the Golden Bears. Jack Gara had two caused turnovers in the opening 15 minutes, which ended with Widener taking a 1-0 lead. The Pride outshot the Golden Bears 5-4 overall. Salsbury made three saves in the opening quarter. 

The Golden Bears would quickly find the back of the net to begin the second quarter after Josh Gagnon took a pass from Logan Jenkins and rifled a shot into the back of the net, evening the score at one. Widener nearly made it 2-1 before the eventually did as Matt Buckley would sting a shot off the post which would bounce to Matt Horgan who cleaned up the rebound and gave the Pride a 2-1 lead with 9:53 to play in the quarter. Western New England responded with a goal just 33 seconds later as Jenkins would continue to create plays, this time, finding Nicholas Campagnone for a goal, tying the game back up. Jonathon Salsbury came up with three more saves in the second quarter while Widener would hit the post twice but would not extend their lead on Western New England as halftime would come with the two teams staying tied at two. Both squads took ten shots in the second quarter while both goalies made three saves. 

The Golden Bears would quickly find their offense in the third quarter and would beat down the Pride early and often. Chris Catuosco would win the opening faceoff of the third quarter, which would be followed by a goal from Jack Houlden, who picked up a pass from Josh Gagnon and found the back of the net, giving WNE a 3-2 lead, their first lead of the game. Houlden would have the first three goals of the quarter for Western New England while Logan Jenkins added an assist on Houlden's hat trick goal, which extended WNE's lead to 5-2 with still over ten minutes to play in the third. Ryan Quinlan found goal for the first time this season for WNE with 9:34 to play. Quinlan would cause a turnover and race towards goal where he was able to score, giving WNE a 6-2 lead. WEN would not be done there as Jenkins and Griffin LaRochelle would score 25 seconds apart from each other that saw Western New England break the game wide open at the midway point of the third quarter, taking an 8-2 lead. After Widener picked up a goal with 5:52 remaining, Jenkins and LaRochelle would again go back-to-back for WNE, giving the Golden Bears a 10-3 lead after three quarters of play. Western New England outscored Widener 8-1 in the quarter overall and took 14 shots to just three from the Pride. 

Widener looked to quickly build some momentum heading into the final 15 minutes of the game, scoring a quick goal less than two minutes into the fourth after Samuel Haverstorm picked up a pass from Nicholas Knepp and would put Widener back on the board, trailing 10-4. The Golden Bears would take exception, scoring back-to-back goals in just 37 seconds as the Houlden-Jenkins connection found the back of the net again while Zachary Mein found twine, giving the Golden Bears a 12-4 lead. Weidner picked up two more goals in the game while Logan Jenkins would cap off his highest scoring game of the season with a goal from Houlden, as Western New England men's lacrosse would dominate the second half and would come up with a 13-6 victory over Widener. 

Inside the Lines:

• The Golden Bears would head into the halftime break with a 2-2 tie against the Pride but would explode for 11 of the 15 goals in the second half to come away with a 13-6 win. 
• Logan Jenkins picked up a hat trick of goals while notching four assists overall. Jenkins took seven total shots, ripping five on goal while scooping one ground ball. 
• Jack Houlden came away with four goals and an assist for Western New England. 
• Jack Gara led WNE with four caused turnovers and picked up three ground balls overall. 
• Ryan Quinlan played both sides of the ball on Wednesday, scoring a goal while causing three turnovers and picking up one ground ball. 
• Jonathon Salsbury made nine saves while allowing just six goals for WNE in the win. 
• WNE out shot Widener 37-27 in the game. The Golden Bears were 23/24 in clear attempts and picked up 19 ground balls. 

Up Next on the Schedule:

• The Golden Bears will head to Rochester, New York for a non-conference game on Sunday, March 16 at 12:00 PM to take on Nazareth University.