Western New England University

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (March 21, 2026) – The men's lacrosse program hosted the United States Merchant Marine Academy on the Bear on Saturday for Senior Day, and the seniors showed up in a big way for WNE. Six Golden Bear seniors picked up goals on the afternoon, leading the team to a 10-9 win over the Mariners in a game that came down to the final shot of the contest.

Records:
Western New England: 3-5 (0-0)
United States Merchant Marine Academy: 3-4 (0-0)

How it Happened:
First Quarter:

• Logan Proctor started the contest by getting the Golden Bears on the board early with his 11th goal of the season. USMMA would respond with four consecutive goals, though. William Badeer had the first goal, assisted by Jack DeTomasso. Then, Nathan Magnus, Badeer, and Dylan Sullivan had the next three goals. Badeer's second goal was assisted by Kyle Hennelly. The Mariners led 4-1.
• However, WNE showed resilience and did not shy away from the Mariners. They had three goals in the final 1:40 of the first quarter. Jacob Roy got the first, TJ Dalicandro got the second, and Dylan Nardone scored the final goal of the first with 0:00 showing on the scoreboard. The teams were tied 4-4 after the first.
• WNE led the stat sheet after the first. They had more shots, 13-6, shots on goal, 7-5, ground balls, 11-5, and faceoff wins, 7-1. WNE trailed in saves 3-1.

Second Quarter:

• Chris Catuosco opened the second quarter with a bang. Catuosco won the opening faceoff, ran down the field, and scored five seconds into the quarter. WNE led 5-4.
• The teams would trade shots and turnovers for the rest of the first half. The next goal would not be scored until the 14:30 mark of the second quarter. Ryan Sullivan scored for USMMA, and the score was 5-5 going into halftime.
• The second quarter stats saw WNE ahead in shots 11-7, both teams had four shots on goal, and both teams had three saves. Both teams stayed 100% on the clear.USMMA led in ground balls 7-6, but WNE again led in faceoff wins 2-1.

Third Quarter:

• WNE once again would score the opening goal of the quarter. Josh Gagnon wound up and fired a goal for his tenth of the season. WNE had the 6-5 lead 1:05 into the second half. Logan Proctor then added to the lead 3:59 into the third. WNE led 7-5 after that goal.
• Ryan Sullivan got a goal back for the Mariners with 9:27 left in the third quarter thanks to a Landon Locke assist, and that would be the final goal of the third. Neither team could score on their man-up chances, and the WNE lead was 7-6 going into the fourth and final quarter.
• Once again, the Golden Bears led in shots 11-6, shots on goal 4-1, ground balls 9-6, and faceoff wins 3-1. USMMA had more saves, 2-0.

Fourth Quarter:

• The final quarter of the contest saw USMMA's Jack DeTomasso tie the game at seven 1:15 into the fourth before WNE had three consecutive goals. It started with Connor Callahan scoring from almost halfway down the field. Then, Gagnon scored a second goal of the game, and Logan Proctor scored his hat-trick goal with 8:12 left in the game.
• By the 1:59 mark left in the contest, Badeer scored a third and fourth goal for the Mariners with DeTomasso and Locke having the assists. The Mariners were charging towards a game-tying goal, but with fourteen seconds left, Jeffrey Wohtowicz made a big save and earned a win for the Golden Bears, 10-9.
• The final stats saw WNE have more shots, 46-31, shots on goal, 21-16, ground balls, 37-26, and faceoff wins, 17-5. USMMA had more saves, 11-7.

Inside the Lines:

• WNE defeated USMMA 10-9 on Saturday afternoon.
• WNE was led by Logan Proctor, who had three points, all goals.
• Seven Golden Bears had a goal for WNE in the win. Josh Gagnon had two.
• Chris Catuosco won 14 of 19 faceoffs for the Golden Bears.
• The Mariners were led by William Badeer, who had four goals.
• Jack DeTomasso also had three points for the Mariners, one goal and two assists.

Coach's Corner:
Senior Chris Catuosco met with the media after the win and was first asked about what worked for him at the faceoff spot after such a successful start to the season. "Going back to what I do at practice, my right-hand punch has been feeling well and has been feeling really quick. Knowing that I had support on the wings all day battling for ground balls and stuff like that, it all just went back to knowing my guys trust in me, I trust in my guys, and honestly just going out there and being able to battle. Feeling confident in myself gave me that extra boost to win those late faceoffs, especially to close out the game," Catuosco stated. Then, when asked what it meant to get a win on senior day on the Bear, he mentioned that, "It meant a lot getting the win at home in front of all my family, friends, and everyone coming out to support. Four years in this program meant a lot to me, and I feel like coming in, having success, and kind of building back that program and culture felt really good to get a win on the Bear. We just have to keep moving on and get the momentum going into conference play."
Jeffrey Wojtowicz then spoke to the media. He was asked how he saw the ball in goal during the win. "I was seeing it pretty well. I had a good warm-up before the game. I felt pretty confident stepping in the cage. Had a little bit of a rough start in the beginning, but found my groove. My teammates were helping me out, talking me through it, keeping me out of my head, and I just saw (the shot), and reacted," Wojtowicz mentioned. Then, when asked about the final save at the end of the game and how he saw it, he replied, "I was just reading it. I forget who was guarding him; I think it was Chance. He was keeping him down the alley; he was closing out the angle. I knew just stay big. He only had two spots to go. Either five-hole or up high, and I read it as he kept his stick high the whole time."
Head coach John Klepacki was then asked a few questions. It started with coach being asked to talk about the win after a tough start that saw the team stay resilient. "I think today was a great team effort as we are closing out nonconference play. A lot of guys are stepping up and are creating opportunities for each other. I think this team is growing as the season goes on. I think the senior class did a really nice job today of stepping up with Chris at the X and some guys filling in at different roles so that we could kind of change things up to give us some more flexibility in the offensive end. I just think the guys kept playing lacrosse, and they were comfortable with everything. That was good to see," Klepacki stated. When asked what the seniors mean to coach, he added, "It's great to have a senior class that comes in and graduates with 98% of them still here. It's a great thing to have a group that wants to stick it out and are committed to each other and the program and are understanding accountability. They are understanding how to do things the right way, and I am really happy for them. I think there are good things that can happen for them.

Up Next on the Schedule:

• WNE will travel to Boston, Massachusetts, on Wednesday, March 25, 2026, at 4:00 PM for their next contest, as they start conference play against the Wentworth Institute of Technology.