SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (April 23, 2025) – The WNE men's lacrosse team celebrated senior day during their final regular season game on Wednesday versus Nichols College. The Golden Bears would excel on senior day, outscoring the Bison 3-0 in the first quarter, 5-1 in the second, and 5-2 in the fourth, with both teams scoring three in the third. Senior Jack Houlden led the charge on senior day with four goals and one assist for five total points. Senior Jonathan Salsbury made 15 saves to lead the Golden Bears to a 16-6 victory.

Records:

• Western New England: 8-9 (5-3)
• Nichols College: 3-14 (1-7)

How it Happened:

The conference contest started with Brady Morgan in net for the Bison and senior Jonathan Slasbury in net for WNE. The Golden Bears would strike first. They had a shot saved by Morgan before James Wrynn scored 52 seconds into the game. WNE led 1-0. Catuosco won the ensuing faceoff before sending two shots at Morgan in goal. Morgan made both saves. The Bison had their first few shots of the game after a Morgan save, and Salsbury had to make a save. The teams traded possession with Morgan, who made another early save. However, after a violation by the Bison, Zachary Mein would capitalize with Mein's tenth goal of the season. WNE led 2-0. Travis Arnold won the next faceoff, but the Bison could not achieve their first goal in the contest. The teams would try to find the next goal, but they would trade turnovers and a few saves. Morgan made a few right in front of the net to deny the Golden Bears later in the first quarter. Then, after a Salsbury save with thirty-seven seconds left in the first, Salsbury started the clear. Griffin LaRochelle found Jack Houlden for the 3-0 goal with nineteen seconds left in the opening quarter. That was the final goal of the first, and WNE led 3-0 after the first quarter of play. The first quarter stats saw WNE lead 15-11 in shots, 10-3 in shots on goal, ground balls 13-5, and faceoff wins 3-1. Nichols College led 7-3 in saves.

The second saw the Golden Bears light up the scoreboard five times. However, the first goal came from the Bison. Even though WNE had a man-up chance before the goal and could not capitalize. Conor Doherty scored the goal, and WNE led 3-1 at 3:04 in the second quarter. WNE answered thirty-seven seconds later, though. Logan Jenkins scored the goal unassisted, and WNE's lead was three once again. The teams would trade the ball back and forth. Morgan and Slasbury each made a save, and then, after a Bison turnover, James Wrynn scored a second goal off an assist from Jack Houlden. WNE led 5-1 with 8:37 left in the first half. Chris Cauosco won the ensuing faceoff, but after a couple of turnovers, WNE got the ball back, and Nicholas Campagnone scored on a Michael Knapp assist. WNE led 6-1. The Bison would call a timeout after the goal to slow the WNE momentum. It would not stifle the momentum as Jack Houlden scored the next WNE goal almost two minutes later. WNE led 7-1. WNE was then called for two penalties but would kill off both man-up chances. Salsbury made a save during the first man-up chance. Then, after a WNE timeout to set up a goal-scoring chance, Josh Gagnon scored, assisted by Griffin LaRochelle. WNE led 8-1 with seventeen seconds left in the first half. WNE took that lead into half. WNE led in most stats at the half. They led in shots 25-20, shots on goal 19-9, ground balls 24-18, and faceoff wins 6-5. The Bison led in saves 11-8.

After the break, the teams would split the goals in half during the third quarter, 3-3. The Bison started the scoring with two goals within the first five minutes. Salsbury made the first save of the second half, but 2:24 into the quarter, Daniel Lee got a pass from Jack Ellis and scored. WNE led 8-2. Cauosco won the next faceoff, but after a WNE turnover, CJ Cagigan found the back of the net, with Jack Ellis earning the assist, and the Bison cut the lead to 8-3. The Golden Bears would answer later in the third. That would start the 3-1 WNE run. Nicholas Campagnone scored the goal after the Logan Jenkins pass. WNE led 9-3 with 6:30 left in the third quarter. WNE had a man-up chance after a slashing penalty was called on the Bison. Then, after a Morgan save, Jack Houlden netted the tenth WNE goal with 3:44 left in the third. Forty-two seconds later, Nicholas Campagnone found a second goal, with Devin Richard having the assist for the Golden Bears. WNE led 11-3 with 3:02 left in the quarter. The Bison would get the final goal, though, after the teams traded the ball back and forth. Shea Ullo scored an unassisted goal with 1:27 left in the third. WNE led 11-4 after the Bison goal, and after a few turnovers, the Golden Bears led by seven after three-quarters of play. The quarter itself was more neutral regarding the stats, but total stats through the third saw WNE still leading. WNE led in shots 38-31, shots on goal 25-16, ground balls 33-28, and faceoff wins 11-7. The Bison led in saves 14-12.

The fourth quarter saw the Golden Bears finish out the game and extend their lead to double digits. Travis Arnold won the opening faceoff for the Bison. The teams traded shots and possessions before Devin Richard found the goal off a Jack Suomala assist, and WNE led 12-4. The teams would trade possessions after the Golden Bears' last goal. Then, after a Bison penalty, Griffin LaRochelle scored the man-up goal off a Logan Jenkins assist. WNE led 13-4 with 11:02 left in the contest. Salsbury and Morgan would make saves after that goal. They kept the score stuck for almost two minutes. However, it was Richard Fedele scoring after a Max Rudgers assist. WNE led 14-4 after Fedele's second goal of the season. The Bison cut the deficit to single digits with fifteen seconds later. CJ Cadigan scored off a Travis Arnold assist. WNE led 14-5. Then, after a couple of turnovers, Jack Houlden scored a man-up goal after a cross-check penalty called on the Bison. Zachary Mein assisted the fourth goal from Houlden. Possession went from team to team, with Salsbury making another save before the Bison called a timeout, and WNE made a goalie change, with Chase Beyus entering the game. Beyus would get two saves after the timeout, and one of them led to a Dylan Nardone goal from a Devin Richard assist. That made the score 16-5 with 1:48 left before one last Bison goal. Joey Lachance found a goal off an assist from Kane Williams for the game's final goal. WNE won the game 16-6. The final stats saw WNE lead in shots 53-43, shots on goal 35-23, and ground balls 43-39. The teams both had thirteen saves. The Bison led in saves 19-17.

Inside the Lines:

• The Golden Bears were led on offense by senior Jack Houlden, who accumulated five points, four goals, and an assist.
• Senior Griffin LaRochelle tallied four points with a team-leading three assists.
• Chris Catuosco picked up seven ground balls and went 10-17 from the faceoff spot.
• Senior, Jonathan Salsbury got the win for the Golden Bears by making fifteen saves in net.
• The Bison were led by Jack Ellis and CJ Cadigan, who each had two points.
• Cadigan led the Bison in goals, with two, and Ellis led the Bison in assists, with two.
• Travis Arnold led the Bison in ground balls with nine and went 13-25 from the faceoff spot.
• Brady Morgan made 19 saves in goal for the Bison.
• WNE won the game 16-6 versus the Bison.

Coach's Corner:

Senior goalkeeper Jonathan Salsbury was asked to talk about how Salsbury was reading the ball today and how the game went overall. "You just gotta stay patient in net… I feel comfortable with the defense in front of me, and I trust that they will do everything to give me the best shot possible and they make it easier for me," Salsbury noted.  Then, when asked what senior day on the Golden Bear means to Salsbury, Salsbury answered, "My parents made it up to the game today, and I haven't seen them all semester, and this is one of the last times that they will get to see me play in person so if that's it, I gotta give them a good game to watch."

Coach John Klepacki was asked for a comment on today's game. "I thought our guys rebounded from Saturday, and we are still trying to find some pieces, and I think they're not quitting on each other… We're excited to be in the playoffs." Klepacki stated. When asked what the key is to advancing far in the playoffs and getting to the championship, Klepacki simply said, "We just wanna play our best lacrosse in the playoffs, and we want our guys healthy and ready to go. That's all it is. We just want our guys keeping it simple."

Up Next on the Schedule:

The Golden Bears will move on to the postseason. The opponent, location, and time of that game are to be announced.