WORCESTER, Mass. (April 3, 2025) – The Western New England women's lacrosse team would fight tooth and nail with the hosting Lancers of Worcester State University on Thursday night in non-conference play but a late fourth-quarter push from the home squad would give the Lancers a 10-6 victory over the Golden Bears.

Records:

• Western New England: 3-7
• Worcester State University: 6-6

How it Happened:

The Lancers would come up with the opening draw control of the game and after two shots would find the back of the net to come away with a 1-0 lead as Shannon Donahue picked up the mark for the Lancers. Just over a minute later, Western New England would come up with their first goal of the game as Ella Henry added to her outstanding week, picking up her third goal of the week overall to tie the game for WNE at one. Henry would win the next draw control of the game which would result in a shot on goal from Lina Eves, but WSU's Olivia LaValle would stand tall to deny the chance. Emily Picolla kept Worcester State off the scoreboard with four saves through the midway point of the opening frame. Neither team would be able to score until the Lancers picked up their second goal of the quarter, which resulted in a mini-scoring spurt in the game with 4:15 left as Abbie Wing notched the tally. Western New England had the response goal with a mark from Eves on an assist from Mia Celentano, evening the score at 2-2. Worcester State had the final goal of the first quarter on Hannah Erickson's goal, giving WSU a 3-2 lead at the end of the quarter. Worcester State picked up 12 shots in the opening quarter to Western New England's ten. Emily Picola came away with seven total saves in the opening 15 minutes.

The Golden Bears would quickly tie the game to begin the second quarter when Lyndsey Bunnell scored for the first time in the game. Worcester State would have their third answer following a WNE goal to grab their one-goal lead back as Erickson picked up her second of the game on an assist from Kerry Brown, giving the Lancers a 4-3 lead. The game would go back and forth in the second quarter with both teams having plenty of chances to score. The Golden Bears caused five turnovers on the Lancers in the second quarter but had just one goal overall. Worcester State added a tally to extend their lead for the first time in the game, taking a 5-3 lead on Erickson's third of the night. WSU's Olivia LaValle made three saves on the Golden Bears in the second quarter overall. 

Western New England would see their leading scorer get in the goal column for the first time in the third quarter to drop WSU's lead to one as Mia Celentano found the back of the net with 9:09 remaining in the quarter, pushing the Lancers lead to just one, 5-4. Lyndsey Bunnell would tie the game at five just more than a minute later as the WNE sophomore came up with her second goal of the game. Lina Eves picked up the assists as the Golden Bears would open the quarter with the first two goals. Worcester State would come away with a goal with just 20 seconds left in the quarter, which proved to be a huge goal for the Lancers to come out of the third quarter with a one-goal lead again. Emily Picolla made six more saves in the third overall as the Lancers took 11 shots in total in the quarter. 

Abbie Wing needed just 31 seconds into the fourth quarter to find the net which gave Worcester State a two-goal lead again. Ella Nish responded with a free position goal of her own in the early stages of the fourth quarter, getting WNE back within one again, trailing 7-6. From there, it would be all Lancers as Nish's shot on goal would be the only one for the Golden Bears in the fourth. Back-to-back goals from Worcester State would hurt the Golden Bears, who came up with a 9-6 lead with 8:56 left to play in the quarter. WNE would turn the ball over seven times in the quarter and would fall 10-6 in the contest overall, falling for the first time since 2018 to Worcester State and just for the second time in 12 overall meetings. 

Inside the Lines:

• Three Golden Bears picked up two points each in the contest. Lina Eves notched a goal and an assist while Mia Celentano followed suit. Lyndsey Bunnell picked up two goals for the blue and gold. 
• Keegan McMahon caused a team-high three turnovers for WNE. The Golden Bears caused eight turnovers overall. 
• Worcester State took 41 total shots in the game while WNE took 21 shots in the game. Western New England had just six shots in the second half and one in the fourth quarter. 
• Shannon Donahue and Hannah Erickson both picked up three goals each for Worcester State. 
• Emily Picolla picked up a career-high 17 saves for the Golden Bears. 

Up Next on the Schedule:

• The Golden Bears are back to Conference of New England action on Saturday, April 5 at 1:00 PM at Endicott College.