SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (September 5, 2025) – In the 12^th edition of the Pynchon SAW Game, the Western New England football team will host Springfield College to open its 2025 schedule on Saturday, September 6, at 12:00 PM (note: time change), at Golden Bear Stadium. 

Last Season Recap (WNE):
The Golden Bears are coming off a 2024 campaign in which they came away with a 6-4 overall record, with a 3-2 mark in Conference of New England play. Western New England opened the season a year ago the same way they have for the last 11 seasons, taking on their cross-town rival, Springfield College in the annual Pynchon SAW game. The contest saw both teams come up with a lead at one point late in the game, but it would be the Pride that opened their season with a 38-32 victory over the Golden Bears to capture their third straight Pynchon SAW Game.  Western New England would rebound with an emphatic 45-27 win over Salve Regina University in their home opener at Golden Bear Stadium, picking up 453 yards of offense in the contest to run away with their first win of the season. In week three, Western New England would play under the Friday night lights for the second time in three weeks, traveling to St. Lawrence University for a battle with the Saints. The blue and gold would come out on top, picking up a 28-14 victory, holding St. Lawrence to no points in the second half to pick up the victory, ripping off the final 28 points of the game overall. Western New England's final regular-season home non-conference contest came against the ninth-ranked team in Division III football in Susquehanna University, where Western New England would not be able to take down one of the nation's best teams, ultimately falling 34-21, moving to 2-2 on the season. The blue and gold wrapped up their non-conference schedule on the road with Anna Maria College, where the third and final night game of the season would commence with a 44-10 victory for the Golden Bears as WNE picked up another 400+ yards of offense, moving to 3-2 during the non-conference season. 

Conference of New England play opened with a 47-21 win over Curry College during Golden Bear Weekend, opening CNE play with an important victory. The Golden Bears would then host 11^th-ranked Endicott College at Golden Bear Stadium, where the Gulls would take down Western New England, moving WNE to 1-1 in conference play. The blue and gold were not able to bounce back the next week, falling in a heartbreaking 49-42 overtime loss at Husson University to drop to 4-4 on the season and just 1-2 in CNE play. The final two games of the regular season were wins for Western New England, defeating the University of New England on senior day in the final home game of the season by a final score of 24-6 and then taking down Nichols College in a shootout, 56-28, ending the season with a 6-4 record and a 3-2 Conference of New England record.

Last Season Recap (Springfield College):
After defeating the Golden Bears in week one, Springfield College would go on an unprecedented run that saw the Pride go undefeated for the season and advance all the way to the national quarterfinals, where they would ultimately fall.  The game between Western New England and Springfield College ended up being Springfield's closest game of the season up until their final game of the season. In week two, Springfield would crush Husson University on the road 76-7, netting 616 total yards for the game.  In their final non-conference game of the regular season, Springfield College would take down Union College (N.Y.) 37-20 to improve to 3-0 on the season.

New England Men's and Women's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) play would round out the rest of Springfield's schedule for the regular season. The Pride has no problems brushing its way right through conference play, opening with U.S. Coast Guard Academy on the road, coming up with a 52-34 win in week four. Week five for the Pride was a dominant 51-7 win over WPI, moving to 5-0 on the season. Springfield College gave up just 55 total points in its final five games of the regular season while scoring 232 points of its own to complete the perfect 10-0 regular season and earn its spot in the NCAA Championships. The Pride defeated MIT 48-0, Salve Regina University 31-7, Norwich University 56-14, Merchant Marine Academy 42-7, and rounded out the regular season with a 55-20 win over SUNY Maritime. 

Springfield College would host the second round of the NCAA Championships and came away with a 54-27 win over the MASCAC Champion Corsairs of UMass-Dartmouth. Springfield College would then face off against second-ranked SUNY Cortland in the third round of the NCAA Championships. The Pride would come up with a 40-28 win to advance to the national quarterfinal round in Naperville, Illinois. The dream season for Springfield College would come to an end in the national quarterfinal round, where top-ranked North Central College would defeat the Pride by a final score of 27-3, ending Springfield's season with an outstanding 12-1 record. 

Who To Watch Out For (WNE): 
Western New England will return key members of their offense and defense this season in hopes of improving their record overall in 2025. On the offensive side of the football, the Golden Bears will look to their graduate student quarterback Brady Lafferty, who threw for 2,471 yards and 26 touchdowns last season to anchor the blue and gold. Rising sophomore Paul Gorry threw for 209 yards and three touchdowns last season and is also expected to make noise for the blue and gold. The two quarterbacks will have their top receiver from last year's squad in De'Andre Harris,  back in blue and gold for his final season. Harris came up with 36 catches for 699 yards and seven touchdowns last season to lead the Golden Bears in both those categories. John De Camps and Jova'n Hill are also expected to see heavy minutes on the field for WNE this season at the wide receiver position. Offensively on the ground, junior Matt LaMontagne will look to take a bulk of the carries this year after producing 616 net yards of rushing in 2024 where the Wolcott, Connecticut native rushed for a team-high six touchdowns. LaMontagne has eight total rushing touchdowns in his Western New England career. 

Defensively, Western New England's leading tackler from a season ago returns to the turf, looking to continue off an outstanding sophomore season in Nick Kolifrath. Kolifrath collected 66 total tackles last season, 5.5 of those came as tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks. Additionally, Kolifrath came up with one interception and forced two fumbles for the Golden Bears. Rising sophomore DJ Gordon will also be in the mix this season after breaking up four passes and picking up two interceptions for Western New England in 2024. Michael Canavatchel, Ryan Clark, and Garrett Swayhoover will all be in the mix for the Golden Bears to make big impacts on defense. 

Who To Watch Out For (Springfield College): 
The Springfield College offense, which produced 5,554 yards on the ground last season and was ranked the number one rushing offense in NCAA DIII,  will look much different in 2025 given the graduation rate of their top six rushers from 2024. Springfield will look to junior quarterback TJ Welch to run its offense this season, while rushers Bode Dunn, James Green, and Luke Zoller are expected to take heavy touches for the Pride. Springfield College tossed just 25 completions through the air last season, with their run game doing most of the damage. Springfield's Trey Rios and Austin Studley will look to be the top two receivers in 2025 as the Pride look to match the same success as last season. 

On defense, Nick Gonzalez, who picked up 74 tackles last season, 3.5 for loss, and a sack, will look to lead to Pride to similar success as 2024. Gonzalez will be joined by Tyler Pohlman, Tyler Paladino, and Bryan Feliciano in the back field. Springfield College's defense came up with 14 interceptions last season, 46 break up passes, 23 quarterback hurries, and 11 forced fumbles. The SC defense ranked 41^st among 239 ranked in total defense last season. 

The Series:
The 12^th edition of the Pynchon SAW Game sees Western New England get hosting duties in 2025. The Golden Bears are 3-3 in their last six home games against Springfield College, with the last win coming in 2021 at Golden Bear Stadium. Springfield has had the edge in the last three meetings overall, a 42-14 win in 2022, a 28-14 win in 2023, and last season's 38-32 victory on their home field. 

2025 Schedule (WNE):
9/6         vs. Springfield College.....................12:00 PM
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 (Springfield College):
9/6        at  Western New England......................12:00 PM
9/13      vs. Husson University.........................12:00 PM
9/20       at  Wisconsin-Platteville.........................1:00 PM
9/27       at  MIT *...............................................12:00 PM
10/4       vs. Salve Regina University*............ 12:00 PM
10/18     at  WPI* ................................................ 3:30 PM
10/25     vs. Merchant Marine Academy*........12:00 PM
11/1       at  Norwich University*.........................12:00 PM
11/8       vs. U.S. Coast Guard Academy*.......12:00 PM
11/15     vs. SUNY Maritime*.............................1:00 PM


*NEWMAC Game 
Home Games Noted in BOLD
 
How To Watch And Follow:
Saturday afternoon's Pynchon SAW Game will be available to stream for free on the Conference of New England Network. You can also follow the live statistics, using the links below. 

Live video can be found by clicking HERE.

Live Statistics can be found by clicking HERE.