SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (April 9, 2025) – WNE returned home trying to snap their two-game skid with a game versus the Wentworth Institute of Technology Leopards. The Golden Bears would take a 4-2 lead after the first quarter, with Jacob Roy being accountable for all four goals with two goals and two assists. The Golden Bears extended their lead to 9-2 with a five-goal second quarter. The Golden Bears extended their lead to eight at the beginning of the third, but the Leopards would not shy away from a challenge and hit back with seven consecutive goals to end the third quarter down by one goal. WNE weathered the storm and answered in the fourth by outscoring the Leopards 5-2 and winning the game 15-11.

Records:

• Western New England: 6-7 (3-1)
• Wentworth Institute of Technology: 10-3 (3-1)

How it Happened:

The Golden Bears and Leopards faced off in Springfield, Massachusetts, with Jonathpn Salsbury in net for WNE and Tom Gardner in net for WIT. The game began with a Connor Charron faceoff victory for WIT. However, they would have a quick turnover. The Leopards would win the ball back before Gabe Cobham scored and gave WIT the early 1-0 lead. The Golden Bears would answer nine seconds later with a Jacob Roy goal off an assist from Nathan Leone to tie the game at one. The teams traded possession and turnovers, with both goalies making saves to stifle the other teams' energy. Then, 5:28 into the contest, Erik Vogt gave the Leopards back the lead with a goal to make the score 2-1, Leopards. The Golden Bears would answer once again on their next possession. Jacob Roy found Jack Houlden for the goal. The game was tied 2-2. The Leopards would win the ensuing faceoff, but David Noel would make Noel's return to the season with a caused turnover, and it led to a Jacob Roy goal. WNE led 3-2 with 6:59 left in the opening quarter. Play went back and forth for just under four minutes, with Gardner making a couple of saves and the Golden Bear defense blocking a great shot chance for Wentworth. Jack Houlden would score the goal for WNE off an assist from Jacob Roy with 3:08 left in the first. The Golden Bears felt the momentum. They sent shot after shot at the goal, with Gardner making a save and the WIT defense moving shot wide of the net. However, they could not get a fifth goal in the opening quarter of play. The first quarter stats saw WNE leading in shots 12-6, shots on goal 7-3, ground balls 13-10, and faceoff wins 5-2. The Leopards had more saves 3-1 and caused turnovers 3-2.

The Golden Bears would earn the game's first possession via a Chris Catuosco faceoff win. Possession was traded back and forth, with Gardner making another two saves. The Golden Bears were called for a penalty with 10:38 left in the first half, and WIT would earn a man-up chance, but a turnover would lead to an unsuccessful chance. Shortly after the Golden Bears killed off the man-up chance, Thomas Labbe would add to the Golden Bears' lead, and WNE led 5-2. Fifty-six seconds later, Max Rudgers scored, and the Golden Bears led 6-2. The Golden Bears kept piling on to their lead with a third Jack Houlden goal assisted by Jacob Roy just over a minute later. That was their sixth consecutive goal to make the lead 7-2 with 6:49 left in the opening half. The Leopards would then call a timeout. That did not halt the WNE momentum. Dylan Nardone would score and give WNE a six-goal lead off an assist from Max Rudgers with 5:06 remaining in the half. Wentworth had the chance to stop WNE's run, but after a save from Salsbury, David Noel would clear the ball and pass the ball to Jacob Roy, who returned the ball to Noel, who scored. Noel's first game of the season sees Noel score and gift WNE a 9-2 lead with 2:27 left in the half. Neither team could score during the rest of the half, and 9-2 was the score at halftime. At the half, WNE led 22-1 in shots, 15-4 in shots on goal, 21-15 in ground balls, and 10-3 in faceoff wins. The Leopards led 6-2 in saves and 4-3 in caused turnovers.

Chris Catuosco won the second-half's opening faceoff, and after the possession was traded to the Leopards and back, Nicholas Campagnone scored off an assist from David Noel. WNE led 10-2 1:06 into the third quarter. The Leopards ended their scoring drought 11:57 into the third quarter via an Erik Vogt goal assisted by Tyler Longo. Then, 1:06 seconds later, Erik Vogt would score a third goal, this one unassisted, and the Leopards were on a run. 1:06 after that goal, Brendan Kroll scored off an assist from Drew Bouley, and the WNE lead was cut down to 10-5 with 9:45 left in the third quarter. The Golden Bears would call a timeout trying to stop the Wentworth run. However, that did not happen. Erik Vogt scored another goal assisted by Gabe Cobham, and the WIT deficit was reduced to four. The Leopards had all of the momentum and kept it rolling. The Leopards kept winning faceoffs, and this showed throughout their goal-scoring run. They would score a fifth goal in a row when Richard Roy found the back of the net, and the deficit was down to 10-7 with 6:52 left in the third. Chris Catuosco won the ensuing faceoff, but WIT would play lockdown defense, and they would move the ball up the field, and Brendan Kroll scored. Tyler Longo had the assist on the goal, and the WNE lead was only 10-8. The Golden Bears had the next few chances but could not convert. Then, the Leopards scored again. Drew Bouley got the goal, and Gabe Cobham got the assist. The score was 10-9 WNE with 2:38 left in the third. After a few more possessions from both teams, the game would enter the fourth quarter with the score 10-9, WNE in the lead. The stats still saw WNE in the lead, but marginally. WNE led in shots 30-24, shots on goal 16-14, ground balls 25-23, and faceoff wins 13-9. The Leopards led in saves 6-5 and caused turnovers 7-3.

The fourth quarter began with a Chris Catuosco faceoff win and a Griffin LaRochelle goal to stop the WIT run at seven goals. WNE led 11-9 a minute into the fourth and final quarter. The Golden Bears would cause a turnover before WNE's Nicholas Campagnone got a pass from Jacob Roy and scored. WNE led 12-9. Connor Charron won the next faceoff for the Leopards, and it led to another goal. Tyler Longo found Drew Bouley for the goal. WNE now led Wentworth 12-10 with 11:42 left in the contest. The Golden Bears answered just over three minutes later after the teams traded possessions. Griffin LaRochelle scored off an assist from Jacob Roy to give the Golden Bears back a three-goal lead. The teams traded shots after the Golden Bears scored, with Gardner making big saves for the Leopards and the Golden Bears making big defensive stops. The Leopards were then called for a penalty, but the Golden Bears could not capitalize. However, just after the goal, Jack Houlden scored and gave the Golden Bears a 14-10 lead off an assist from Dylan Nardone. That lead was extended to 15-10 off a goal from James Wrynn with 3:46 left in the contest. The Leopards had a big chance in their next possession, but Salsbury made a big save. The Golden Bears were called for a penalty with 1:34 left in the game. However, the Leopards could not capitalize under just after the penalty expired when Drew Bouley scored, and the lead was 15-11. The Golden Bears won the next faceoff, and even with the Leopards getting another possession, they could not score, and WNE won the game 15-11. The final stats saw WNE lead in shots 44-37, shots on goal 26-18, ground balls 33-28, and faceoff wins 20-10. The Leopards had more saves, 11-7, and caused turnovers, 9-4.

Inside the Lines:

• Jacob Roy led The Golden Bears on the offensive side, who tallied eight points with two goals and six assists.
• Jack Houlden led the Golden Bears with four goals.
• Chris Catuosco picked up seven ground balls, and Jonathon Salsbury made seven saves to lead the Golden Bears in those categories.
• Erik Vogt led the Leopards in points with seven and goals with four.
• Tyler Longo led the Leopards with three assists.
• Connor Charron picked up six ground balls, and Trevor Guilmette led the Leopards with three caused turnovers. Tom Gardner made eleven saves.
• The Golden Bears won 15-11.

Coach's Corner:

Jack Houlden was asked a couple of questions after the game's conclusion. When asked about Houlden's performance (which included four goals) and the team's performance, Houlden stated, "I gotta give it all to my teammates. (They were) just playing hard tonight, helping me, finding me inside…" Houlden was then asked what it would take to take down Roger Williams University on Saturday. "I think we just gotta trust our coach's plan, just give it two hard days at practice, and give it a full sixty minutes, going as hard as we can," Houlden added.

Head coach John Klepacki was asked what it took to weather the seven-goal storm from Wentworth after being up 10-2 and winning the game. "I think we needed to play sixty minutes, and I give Wentworth a lot of credit. They made some nice plays, and we just needed to get back to the basics," Klepacki mentioned. When asked about Jacob Roy's 8-point performance and Roy being a big part of the offense during the contest, Klepacki answered, "I think the offense played really well together. I think Jake made some simple reads, and I thought the guys did really well playing together with creating space and taking what was given to them opportunity-wise."

Up Next on the Schedule:

The men's lacrosse team will be back in action on Saturday, April 12, 2025, at 3:00 PM when the team travels to Bristol, Rhode Island, to take on the Roger Williams University Hawks. The Golden Bears have been 23-0 since 2004 versus the Hawks, and they are looking for win number 24 on Saturday.