Skip To Main Content

Western New England University

The Official Home of Western New England University Athletics
MLAX 4.14.26
4
Johnson & Wales (RI) JWU 3-8, 2-5
12
Winner Western New Eng. WNE 10-5, 7-0
Johnson & Wales (RI) JWU
3-8, 2-5
4
Final
12
Western New Eng. WNE
10-5, 7-0
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Johnson & Wales (RI) JWU 1 0 2 1 4
Western New Eng. WNE 5 4 1 2 12

Game Recap: Men's Lacrosse |

Golden Bears Battle Through Pouring Rain, Knock Down Wildcats 12-4

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (April 14, 2026) – The Wildcats and Golden Bears dueled on the Bear on Tuesday. The Golden Bears struck first with five goals in the first, including two from Josh Gagnon. That five-goal first quarter led to nine goals in the first half on the way to a 12-4 victory versus the Wildcats. Jacob Roy led the team to the win with five points and two goals. David Noel led the defense with four caused turnovers and two goals scored.

Records:
Western New England: 10-5 (7-0)
Johnson & Wales University: 3-8 (2-5)

How it Happened:
First Quarter:
  • Josh Gagnon got the goal-scoring started almost five minutes into the contest. Max Rudgers assisted, and the Golden Bears led 1-0. The lead was added to just over a minute and a half later when Jacob Roy found a cutting David Noel for the goal. WNE had a 2-0 lead.
  • The Golden Bears doubled that 2-0 lead in the span of 12 seconds as Gagnon scored his second with 6:10 left in the first. Thomas Labbe was credited with the assist. Then, Logan Jenkins scored an unassisted goal to give them a 4-0 lead.
  • The opening quarter ended with a goal from each side. Jacob Graham netted the first JWU goal with 3:16 left on a man-up opportunity. Jack Davis assisted the goal. Then, Max Rudgers answered for WNE, and it was 5-1 entering the second quarter. WNE had the major advantage in statistics, with shots and shots on goal both favoring WNE, and had the majority of the faceoff wins (5-2).
Second Quarter:
  • WNE started the second with a three-goal run within the first five minutes. David Noel scored his third goal of the season off a Jacob Roy assist. Then, Roy added goal number 34 of the season before Connor Balletto scored his first goal of the season. WNE led 8-1 with ten minutes still to be played in the first half.
  • Neither team would find another goal for nearly the rest of the second quarter. However, with 16 seconds left, Jacob Roy found the goal and WNE led 9-1 at halftime.
  • WNE ended the first half leading 24-14 in shots, 15-6 in shots on goal, 20-9 in ground balls, and 8-4 in faceoff wins. The Wildcats had more saves, 6-5.
Third Quarter:
  • Jacob Roy gave the Golden Bears a nine-goal lead 1:18 into the second half. WNE led 10-1. The teams would trade possession of the ball before the Wildcats netted a pair of goals late in the third to cut the lead to 10-3.
  • Alex Spada scored the second JWU goal of the evening with 4:35 left in the quarter. Then, Jacob Graham scored his second of the game and 17th of the season with 2:11 left in the third, and JWU made the deficit seven goals.
  • Neither team found another goal as they traded turnovers late in the third, and the contest went to the fourth quarter with WNE leading 10-3. WNE trailed 3-1 in shots on goal, with their only shot on goal finding the back of the net. JWU also had more ground balls (9-6), but WNE's Jeffrey Wojtowicz made the lone save of the third.
Fourth Quarter:
  • Alex Spada scored a second goal 2:07 into the fourth to extend the JWU run to three goals. TJ Dalicandro then ended the three-goal run by the Wildcats off an assist from Kevin Morina. WNE led 11-4.
  • Then, with 6:10 left in the contest, Nathan Leone found his fourth goal of the season. Jacob Roy found him with the pass, leading to the twelfth WNE goal. That was the final goal of the contest, and WNE took the 12-4 win.
  • WNE led in almost every statistic during Tuesday's game. They had more shots (48-28), shots on goal (22-10), ground balls (34-27), and faceoff wins (12-8). JWU had more saves (10-6), and both teams had eight caused turnovers.
Inside the Lines:
  • The Golden Bears defeated the Wildcats 12-4.
  • Jacob Roy led WNE with five points and two goals.
  • Three Golden Bears had multi-goal games. Josh Gagnon and David Noel both scored two goals to match Roy.
  • Nine total Golden Bears picked up goals and points in the win.
  • Levi Kelly-Smith won 12-18 faceoffs and picked up four ground balls.
Up Next on the Schedule:
  • The Golden Bears will travel to Milton, Massachusetts, for a clash with Curry College on April 18, 2026, at 2:00 PM for their next game.
Print Friendly Version