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Western New England University

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WLAX 4.23.25
10
Winner Nichols NC 12-3, 5-3
8
Western New Eng. WNE 5-11, 4-5
Winner
Nichols NC
12-3, 5-3
10
Final
8
Western New Eng. WNE
5-11, 4-5
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Nichols NC 2 4 2 2 10
Western New Eng. WNE 6 0 2 0 8

Game Recap: Women's Lacrosse |

Nichols Stuns WNE Women’s Lacrosse For First Ever Victory Over Golden Bears

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (April 23, 2025) – The Western New England women's lacrosse team fell short in their regular season finale on Wednesday night under the lights of Golden Bear Stadium as the Bison of Nichols College would shutout the Golden Bears in the fourth quarter while scoring two fourth quarter goals to propel their way to a 10-8 win over WNE, their first win in program history over the blue and gold. 

Records:
  • Western New England: 5-11, 4-5 CNE
  • Nichols College: 12-3-1, 5-3-1 CNE
How it Happened:

The Golden Bears looked to be a well-oiled machine on offense to begin the first quarter, clicking on all cylinders, scoring the first three goals of the game in all. Ella Henry would get the Golden Bears started with her 16th goal of the season on a free position shot while Mia Celentano notched her team-leading 52nd goal of the year less than a minute later, quickly putting Western New England ahead 2-0. Emily Picolla would be on top of her game in between the pipes for WNE, making back-to-back saves on the Bison to keep Nichols from scoring. Lyndsey Bunnell would reward her goalkeeper with her 14th goal of the season with still 9:48 left to play in the quarter, extending Western New England's lead. Nichols would get on the board for the first time on the afternoon at the 6:21 mark of the first quarter when Kristen Ruby scored for the 19th time on the year. Gabriella Mandirola would have the next goal for Nichols, her 11th of the season, but it would not be outdone by Lina Eves, who quickly responded less than a minute later to stop the Bison scoring run. Western New England had the final three goals overall in the quarter, clicking on all cylinders, with Bunnell and Celentano adding their respective second goals of the game, taking a 6-2 lead after the first 15 minutes of play. The Golden Bears outshot Nichols 9-5 in the first frame while Picolla came away with three saves in the opening frame. 

The Bison would take exception to Western New England's strong start and would shut out the Golden Bears in the second quarter while tying the game by the end of the frame. Back-to-back-to-back goals from Nichols in a span of 1:23 would put the Bison quickly within a goal with still 8:32 left to play in the second quarter. WNE would turn the ball over four times in the quarter while taking just a single shot on goal in the 15 minutes, saved by Nichols's Briar Slattery. The Bison ended the second quarter with the tying goal as Emma Patton scored her 35th goal of the season, evening the score at six at the break. Nichols took ten shots in the second frame, all were on goal. Picolla made an additional four saves in the quarter. 

Needing a better start to the second half, WNE's Lina Eves would rip a shot past Slattery to get the Golden Bears on the scoreboard again for the first time in over a quarter of play as Eves notched her 30th goal of the season to give WNE the lead back. The Bison would answer with a free position mark to tie the game again at seven while the Golden Bears came around to take the lead on another Lyndsey Bunnell tally, giving WNE an 8-7 advantage. Nichols would continue to fight back while their defense visibly began to lock up the WNE offense. Paige Alexander picked up her 8th tally of the season for Nichols with four minutes remaining in the third, tying the score at eight, which held for the remainder of the frame. WNE came up with a 6-5 shots advantage in the third quarter overall. 

Neither team would score a goal in the first half of the final quarter of the game as both goalkeepers came up with timely saves to keep their respective teams tied.  The leading scorer for Nichols on the season came up big-time offense with 6:32 to go, giving the Bison their first lead of the game as Hadley Houghton's 58th goal of the season would bring Nichols ahead 9-8. The Bison would win all three draw controls in the fourth quarter, aiding to their ability to take time off the clock. WNE's final offensive attempt of the night came from Ella Henry, who took a shot that sailed wide of the net. Houghton would score again for Nichols with just 51 seconds to play, icing the game for the Bison and giving Nichols a 10-8 lead over the Golden Bears, Western New England's first-ever loss to Nichols all-time. 

Inside the Lines:
  • Lyndsey Bunnell led the WNE offense with three goals on five shots, putting four on goal. 
  • Lina Eves and Mia Celentano picked up a pair of goals each. All eight of the WNE goals came unassisted. 
  • Sayde Kowalczyk led WNE with three caused turnovers. Melissa Shanteler picked up five ground balls. 
  • Hadley Houghton had three key goals for Nichols to lead their way to victory. 
  • Nichols outshot WNE 29-26 in the game overall. Emily Picolla made 14 saves for the Golden Bears. 
Up Next on the Schedule:
  • Western New England will be the six seed heading into the Conference of New England tournament and will head to the University of Hartford on Saturday, April 26 at 12:00 PM for the first round of the tournament. 
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