SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (March 26, 2025) – The Western New England women's lacrosse team used a massive eight-goal third quarter to come away with a 15-5 win over the Fighting Scots of Gordon College on Wednesday evening from Golden Bears Stadium. Mia Celentano picked up seven points, four goals, and three assists, to lead the charge for the blue and gold. 

Records:

• Western New England: 2-5, 1-0 CNE
• Gordon College: 1-7, 0-1 CNE

How it Happened:

The Golden Bears quickly opened the game with a goal, needing just three minutes to find the back of the net as Western New England would take advantage of a failed clear attempt by Gordon and fired home a goal to lead 1-0. Mia Celentano would find a cutting Ella Henry in front of the goal to quickly lead 1-0. WNE would double their lead less than two minutes later after Ella Nish caused a turnover on the Fighting Scots while Lina Eves found the back of the net, giving the Golden Bears a 2-0 lead. From there, scoring would be at a lull as both teams would turn the ball over while Emily Picolla would make two big saves on back-to-back shots for the Golden Bears, robbing Kaitlyn Mini in quick succession and keeping Gordon off the scoreboard. Western New England would be back on the scoreboard with 3:45 left in the quarter when Mia Celentano picked up her first goal of the game, extending WNE's lead to three. Gordon would get on the board with just 52 seconds to play in the first as Mini grabbed the goal for the Fighting Scots dropping WNE's lead to just two after the first 15 minutes of play. Western New England outshot Gordon 9-3 in the quarter, taking six shots on goal to Gordon's three. WNE was a perfect 5/5 on clear attempts. Ella Nish caused two turnovers for the Golden Bears. 

The Fighting Scots would storm back in the second quarter to tie the game as Western New England's offense would disappear. Naomi Haysel would score an unassisted goal for the Fighting Scots with 10:52 to play in the frame to get within one, trailing 3-2. Following another long span of no goals, Gordon would be the next on the board with 4:42 to play to tie the game at three as Haysel found the back of the net for the second time in the quarter. WNE would quickly answer less than a minute later as Megan Spedaliere would find Ella Nish for a goal that broke the tie and gave the Golden Bears a 4-3 lead. With just nine seconds left to play in the half, Mia Celentano would find her second goal of the game that gave the Golden Bears a 5-3 lead at the break. Seven of WNE's 13 shots in the quarter would go on goal as Gordon's Kayla Davidson would make five saves for the Fighting Scots in the second quarter. Two of Gordon's four shots found the back of the net in the quarter overall. 

Western New England would open the third quarter with two quick goals as Abbey Francis would net a goal just 38 seconds into the quarter while Mia Celentano would celebrate her hat trick goal just 2:16 into the third, giving the Golden Bears a 7-3 lead. WNE would continue to find their offense in the quarter, scoring another three quick goals in just over two minutes to begin to pull away from Gordon. Two goals from Lina Eves and another added by Megan Spedaliere would give Western New England a 10-3 lead. The Western New England defense would cause havoc on Gordon as Melissa Shanteler and Ella Nish would put pressure on the 'Scots, not allowing the visitors to take a shot in the frame. WNE ended the third quarter with three more goals as Lyndsey Bunnell, Abbey Francis, and Mia Celentano all scored, giving WNE a 13-3 lead at the end of the third. Western New England outscored Gordon 8-0 in the frame to pull away. 

The Golden Bears and Scots picked up two goals each in the fourth quarter which would be enough for WNE to come away with their first win in conference play of the season. Lyndsey Bunnell and Gabby Sliwka added tallies for the blue and gold in the final quarter of play while Emily Picolla was forced to make just one save for the Golden Bears overall. WNE would pick up the 15-5 victory, their seventh straight overall against Gordon in the all-time series. 

Inside the Lines:

• Offensively, Western New England was led by Mia Celentano, who picked up four goals and three assists, good for seven points on the evening. Celentano took seven shots, putting five on goal while scooping one ground ball and causing one turnover. 
• Lina Eves, Lyndsey Bunnell, Megan Spedaliere, Abbey Francis, and Ella Nish all had at least two points for the Golden Bears in the win. 
• Lyndsey Bunnell and Melissa Shanteler caused four turnovers each for the Golden Bears to lead the way while Ella Nish had four of her own. 
• In goal, Emily Picolla made six saves while allowing just four goals. 
• For Gordon, Hannah Rose and Naomi Haysel picked up a pair of goals. The Fighting Scots would be doomed by their 28 turnovers in the game. 

Up Next on the Schedule:

• WNE heads to the University of New England for their second conference counting game of the season on Friday, March 28 at 7:30 PM. Note, a time and date change was made to this game due to impending weather in Maine on Saturday afternoon.