SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (September 12, 2025) – Following a dramatic 23-22 victory in week one over No. 13 Springfield College, the Western New England football team will look to turn the page and direct its attention to their second straight opponent from the NEWMAC conference in Salve Regina University for week two action on the road. 

Last Time Out:

The Golden Bears needed all 60 minutes in week one to come away with the one-point, 23-22 win over 13^th-ranked Springfield College in the home opener last week. Western New England picked up its first-ever win over a nationally ranked team in program history. In the game, it would be Western New England who scored the lone three points in the first quarter, coming on a Max LoGrasso 23-yard field goal to put Western New England ahead. Springfield College came back in the second quarter with the next score on a one-yard run, picking up their first lead of the contest. In a back-and-forth afternoon affair, WNE would score the next touchdown, a six-yard run from Matt LaMontagne that pushed the blue and gold ahead 10-7 with 3:26 remaining in the half. The Pride marched down the field with the time remaining and with 41 seconds to play, would run another touchdown into the end zone to take a 14-10 lead after the opening 30 minutes. 

Springfield College began with the ball to start the second half and used over eight minutes of clock but came up with no points following a 15-play, 54-yard drive that resulted in a missed field goal, keeping the Pride ahead by four. WNE's only offensive drive in the quarter came with six points attached. A 36-yard pass from Brady Lafferty to Davis Nelson would set up an eventual 25-yard pass from Lafferty to Kevin Acosta, making his debut with Western New England, putting six points on the scoreboard to take a 16-14 lead after three quarters of play. Neither team could pick up any points in the early stages of the fourth quarter with both teams getting the opportunity to drive but could not find the end zone. With 2:26 remaining in the game, Springfield College picked up seven points to its total on a 26-yard rushing touchdown to come up with a 22-16 lead over WNE. In what was their final drive of the afternoon, Western New England moved quickly down the field and capped off a 17-play, 65-yard drive with a 13-yard touchdown pass from Lafferty to Christian Delgado, who secured the victory for the Golden Bears with just five seconds remaining in the contest. LoGrasso's extra point attempt be true through the uprights, giving WNE a 23-22 victory. 

Western New England recorded 17 first downs in the game and totaled 267 yards of offense. Springfield College, the NCAA Division III's leader in rush offense, was limited to 240 yards of rushing offense and 289 total in the game. This is the first time since 2021 where the Golden Bears have held Springfield College to under 300 yards in a game. 

Salve Regina University was also victorious in their week one matchup against UMass-Dartmouth, coming up with a 34-13 win. Salve netted 422 total yards of offense in the game, 164 rushing and 258 yards through the air. The Seahawks never trailed in the game, opening with a touchdown on their first drive of the game, and never looked back. Salve's quarterback Thomas Fallon threw 18 completions for 258 yards and tossed three touchdown passes overall. On the ground, Justan Luzzi ran 18 times for 94 yards, crossing the end zone once. 

The Salve Regina defense kept UMass-Dartmouth without a touchdown in the opening half and gave up just six second-half points. The Corsairs were held to just 135 yards of passing and 132 yards on the ground in the loss. Salve Regina's James Minotti led the team with 13 total tackles, six solo and seven assisted. The Seahawks generated three sacks in the game, including two from Jesse Hayes and another from Colin Morley. Salve Regina has won five straight over UMass-Dartmouth, dating back to 2009. 

Players To Watch For: Offense
This is the second straight season that the Golden Bears and Seahawks will meet. The two teams have a long history, dating back to Salve Regina inside the Conference of New England. The two teams have played 30 times in their history, with Salve Regina owning a 16-14 record but Western New England has won eight of the last nine matchups overall. 

Western New England's offense ran heavily on its pass game against Springfield College as quarterback Brady Lafferty tossed 17 completions on 33 attempts, throwing for 180 yards and two touchdowns, none-bigger than the game-winner with five seconds left to defeat the Pride. De'Andre Harris was Lafferty's number one target as the graduate student caught six passes for 72 yards in the game, with a long of 19-yards. Kevin Acosta caught three passes for 34 yards in his Western New England debut, scoring a touchdown, his first with WNE and 11^th collegiate touchdown overall. Christian Delgado hauled in his first career touchdown, the game-winner, totaling two catches for 22 yards overall. The Western New England run game was led by Jova'n Hill, who took three attempts for 39 yards. Matt LaMontagne had WNE's rushing touchdown in the game, netting 16 yards overall for the game. 

Salve Regina showed a strong start to their season with 34 points over UMass-Dartmouth. The offense was led by Thomas Fallon, who picked up 18 completions for 258 yards over 32 passing attempts and threw three touchdowns in the game, including a 72-yard touchdown pass. That 72-yard touchdown pass was hauled in by Spencer Chapman, Salve's leading receiver for the game, who collected three catches for 102 yards and a touchdown. Kyle Crampton led the Seahawks with seven catches, picking up 73 yards and a touchdown while Jacoby Smith also scored for Salve Regina. On the ground, Justan Luzzi rushed 18 times for 94 net yards and punched in one score for the Seahawks, averaging over five yards per carry. 

Players To Watch: Defense
Nick Kolifrath led the Golden Bears in their win over Springfield College, collecting 11 total tackles in the game, two solos and nine assisted. Kolifrath was named Conference of New England Defensive Player of the Week following his outstanding week. Ben Caufield and Ryan Clark also made key contributions for Western New England, helping force Springfield College a run-heavy game plan. Caufield picked up four solo tackles and four assisted tackles as well as a half tackle for loss. Clark has similar numbers with four solo and four assisted tackles and added two full tackles for a loss of four yards in the win. First year Miles Stovall impressed for Western New England in his first collegiate game, coming up with two solo tackles and five assisted tackles, good for seven total tackles in the game. For his efforts, Stovall picked up Conference of New England Rookie of the Week honors. The Golden Bears defense totaled 91 tackles in the game, seven of those for loss. 

Salve Regina sophomore James Minotti led the Seahawks with six solo tackles and seven assisted tackles in the win over UMass-Dartmouth, good for 13 total tackles on the afternoon. Minotti was joined by teammates Michael Rustein, who notched nine tackles, four solo and five assisted in the game. Marcues Jean had four tackles for Salve, two of those came as tackle for loss. Jesse Hayes notches two sacks in the game while Colin Morley added another for the Seahawks in the win. 

Players to Watch: Special Teams
The Golden Bears attempted one field goal in the game against Springfield College which would go through as a 23-yard make from Max LoGrasso. LoGrasso was also 2/3 on point after attempts and averaged 51 yards on the kickoff. John Moss punted six times for the Golden Bears, averaging just over 30 yards per boot, including one kick inside the 20 yard line. Jova'n Hill returned one kickoff for the Golden Bears for 16 yards. 

For Salve Regina, Brody Schaffer missed both field goals, one block and one miss, a 20-yard attempt that was blocked and a 36-yard attempt that did not go through the uprights. Schaffer was 4/5 on extra point attempts for the Seahawks in the win. Salve Regina returned four kickoffs in the game, with Jacoby Smith leading the way with two returns for 109 yards, including an 87-yard kickoff return. Kyle Crampton picked up two returns for 33 yards. The punt game was led by Thomas Fallon, who booted for 57 yards, including once inside the 20 yard line. 

The Series:
Saturday afternoon's contest in Newport, Rhode Island will mark the 31^st meeting all-time, dating back to 1993, between the two former foes. Western New England has had the upper hand the last eight of nine meetings, including last season's 45-27 win at Golden Bear Stadium. 

2025 Schedule (WNE):
9/6         vs. No. 13 Springfield College..........W, 23-22
9/13       at  Salve Regina University.................12:00 PM
9/20       vs. Worcester State University.........12:00 PM
9/27       at  University of New England*............1:00 PM
10/4       vs. Husson University* .....................1:00 PM
10/18     at  Endicott College* ...........................5:00 PM
10/25     at  Curry College*................................12:00 PM
11/1       vs. New England College*.................1:00 PM
11/8       at  Maine Maritime Academy*.............12:00 PM
11/15     vs. Nichols College* .........................1:00 PM

*Conference of New England Game 
Home Games Noted in BOLD
 
2025 Schedule (Salve Regina):
9/6         vs. UMass-Dartmouth........................W, 34-13
9/13       vs. Western New England...................12:00 PM
9/20       at  William Paterson University…...........1:00 PM
9/27       vs. SUNY Maritime (N.Y.)*...................1:00 PM
10/4       at  Springfield College* .........................12:00 PM
10/18     vs. Merchant Marine* .........................12:00 PM
10/25     at  MIT*....................................................12:00 PM
11/1       vs. U.S. Coast Guard Academy*...........12:00 PM
11/8       at  Norwich University*……………...............12:00 PM
11/15     at  WPI* ....................................................12:00 PM

*NEWMAC Game 
Home Games Noted in BOLD
 
How To Watch And Follow:

Viewing for Saturday afternoon's Western New England football game at Salve Regina University will be available on FloSports for a fee. You can also follow by following live statistics using the link below. Attending the game? A ticket link can also be found below. 
Watch Live HERE.
Live Stats HERE.
Tickets HERE.