NORTHAMPTON, Mass. (February 28, 2026) – The Western New England women's lacrosse team fell just short for the second straight game to begin the season on Saturday afternoon, dropping an 11-10 contest at the hands of the Bears of Smith College. Lyndsey Bunnell led WNE with a goal and two assists. 

Records:

• Western New England: 0-2
• Smith College: 2-1

How it Happened:

First Quarter:

• Smith had the opening offensive possession with Caroline Sanders coming away with a shot on goal, saved by Western New England's starting goalkeeper, Emily Picolla. The Smith Bears then picked up a save from Brooke Testa, keeping the Golden Bears from scoring on a shot on goal from Ella Henry. Smith found twine on the next offensive possession of the game when Caroline Sanders picked up a free position goal to give the Bears a 1-0 lead. Smith scored its second just 1:06 later when Kyra Hawk picked up a goal while a player up, giving the hosts a 2-0 lead. 
• Western New England came around with a tally after a draw control victory as Sydney Miles fired home her third goal of the season to put the Golden Bears on the board while a player down. The game went nearly six minutes without a goal until Smith scored three goals in the final 1:10 of the first quarter to take a commanding 5-1 lead after one quarter. Goals from Smith's Hawk and Skyla Burkart had the home team ahead by four after the opening 15 minutes of play. 
• Smith outshot the Golden Bears 9-4 in the first quarter and held the 5-3 advantage in shots on goal. The Golden Bears took four penalties in the quarter, with Smith scoring twice while a player up. 

Second Quarter:

• Western New England was the first to score in the second quarter after Picolla picked up a save to lead the Golden Bears up the field, where Samantha Montecalvo buried her first of the season on an assist from Lyndsey Bunnell. The Golden Bears added a third goal to cut Smith's lead to two when Ella Henry picked up her fourth of the year, seeing the score move to 5-3. 
• Smith answered with a goal to go back up by three, but Ella Nish found twine for her first of the afternoon on a free position goal,  moving the score to 6-4 in favor of Smith. The Golden Bears added a tally before half to get back within one, as Lina Eves picked up a free position strike. The Golden Bears trailed 6-5 at the end of the opening half. 
• Both Smith and Western New England picked up eight shots each in the second quarter. Emily Picolla made five saves for Western New England, allowing just one Smith goal. WNE picked up four goals in the second, getting within one after 30 minutes of play. 

Third Quarter:

• The Golden Bears evened the score with another goal from Sydney Miles, tying the game at six. The two teams exchanged goal for goal in the opening ten minutes of the quarter as neither team could come up with an advantage over the other. 
• Lina Eves scored to tie the game for Western New England with 7:47 remaining, while Smith took the lead back just two minutes later when Jordan Hoffman gave the Bears a 9-8 lead. Smith extended its lead before the quarter ended on a goal from Kyra Hawk, who continued to produce for the home squad, giving Smith a 10-9 lead after three quarters of play. 
• Smith had the shots edge in the quarter, 6-5.

Fourth Quarter:

• Lyndsey Bunnell found the back of the net for her first goal of the season on a free-position shot to get the Golden Bears back within one, trailing Smith. Western New England had three chances at goal after Lina Eves and Allison Cyr took shots, but could not get a chance past Smith's Brooke Testa. 
• Smith picked up its 11^th goal of the game with 6:02 to play when Layna Fitzgerald found twine for the Bears, leading WNE 11-9. WNE punched back with a Carlie Francis goal while a player up, getting WNE back within one, 11-10, with just under five minutes to play. 
• The Golden Bears couldn't get over the hump in the final five minutes, turning the ball over in the final seconds as Smith clinched the one-goal victory, defeating Western New England 11-10. 

Inside The Lines:

• Lyndsey Bunnell led WNE with a goal and two assists, taking three shots in the game. 
• Carlie Francis continued to shine with a pair of goals for the Golden Bears. 
• Lina Eves and Sydney Miles each had a pair of goals in the one-goal loss. 
• Caroline Sanders had three goals and two assists for Smith to lead the way, while Kyra Hawk had three goals. 
• WNE opens the 2026 campaign with back-to-back one-goal losses. 

Up Next on the Schedule:

• Western New England travels to Springfield College for a road contest on Wednesday, March 4, at 6:00 PM from Stagg Field.