SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (March 4, 2026) – The Western New England women's lacrosse team was downed on the road on Wednesday night against crosstown rival Springfield College as the Pride pulled out an eight-goal second quarter to take down the Golden Bears by a final score of 15-5.

Records:

• Western New England: 0-3
• Springfield College: 1-1

How it Happened:

First Quarter:

• Emily Picolla made the start for the Golden Bears and came up with a save to open the game on Springfield's Payton Imhof to keep the Pride from scoring early. Picolla picked up four saves in the early goings of the game as Western New England couldn't get a clear attempt to succeed. 
• Western New England's first offensive pressure came five minutes in when Lina Eves had a chance at goal but had a shot sail over the net. Ella Henry had the first free position shot of the game, which was saved by Springfield's Lindsay Hillemeir. Neither team could find the back of the net through the opening nine minutes of the game until Western New England was the first to strike. 
• Following another Picolla save, Western New England used a quick transition to get to goal and Ella Henry found the back of the net to give Western New England a 1-0 lead. It took the Pride just over three minutes to answer back with a goal of their own when Olivia Zalinsky fired a free position goal into the net for Springfield's first goal of the game, and the game was tied back at one. Western New England was unable to do anything further with its final possession of the opening quarter. 
• Emily Picolla made seven saves for the Golden Bears while WNE was outshot 11-3 in the opening frame. 

Second Quarter:

• Springfield College had the upper hand in the second quarter, scoring eight total times to take it to the Golden Bears. The Pride opened the quarter with a strike after a WNE turnover when Izzy Lalancette found the back of the net to give the Pride is first lead of the game. Western New England then answered when reigning CNE Offensive Player and Rookie of the Week Carlie Francis continued to score for Western New England, this time evening the score at two with 11:53 to play. 
• Springfield began growing its lead, leading 4-2 in less than a minute, and then added another tally less than a minute after their fourth to begin to run away with the game, leading 5-2 with 9:37 to play. The Golden Bears fell behind 6-2 before its next goal when Allison Cyr picked up her first of the game while a player up, seeing Western New England get back into the game, trailing 6-3. 
• The Pride ended the second quarter with three goals and took a 9-3 lead into the halftime break. Springfield netted eight goals in the quarter, while Western New England fell short with just two goals. WNE picked up just three shots in the frame while Springfield College notched ten. 

Third Quarter:

• Looking to mount a comeback, the Golden Bears had the opening goal of the quarter as Lyndsey Bunnell became WNE's fourth different goal scorer on the night. Bunnell's goal put Western New England back within five, trailing 9-4. Springfield answered with a free-position goal with 7:04 left to reclaim its six-goal lead. 
• Just three total goals were scored in the third quarter, two by Springfield College and just the lone Bunnell tally for the Golden Bears. Springfield's Elyse Altand had the final strike with 2:14 remaining in the quarter, giving the Pride an 11-4 lead after 45 minutes of play. 
• WNE picked up just one shot on goal in the quarter and took three overall. Emily Picolla made four saves between the pipes for the Golden Bears. 

Fourth Quarter:

• The Pride scored back-to-back goals in 43 seconds to bury the Golden Bears in the opening five minutes of the fourth quarter, taking a commanding 13-4 lead. Ella Henry had the lone WNE strike in the fourth quarter, coming with 8:19 to play, her second goal of the game. 
• Springfield finished off the game with the final two tallies, defeating Western New England by a final score of 15-5. Western New England had just one shot on goal in the quarter again, which found twine. SC finished the fourth quarter with four goals and seven shots on goal. 

Inside the Lines:

• Ella Henry had two of WNE's five goals in the game. Henry took six shots, putting three on goal, and won two draw controls. 
• Allison Cyr, Carlie Francis, and Lyndsey Bunnell were other goal scorers for the Golden Bears in the game. 
• Emily Picolla made 16 saves for Western New England in the game. 
• Christina Harris led the WNE defense with three caused turnovers in the game. 
• Springfield College took 40 shots in the game while WNE had just 12. The Golden Bears put five shots on goal, all finding the back of the net. 
• Olivia Zalinsky led the Pride with four goals offensively. 

Up Next on the Schedule:

• The Golden Bears take on Keene State College on Wednesday, March 4, at 1:00 PM from Golden Bear Stadium, in search of their first win of the year.