SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (April 14, 2026) – The Western New England women's lacrosse team celebrated its senior class on Tuesday evening before a Conference of New England game against the Wildcats of Johnson & Wales University (JWU), seeing JWU sneak away with a 12-9 win. 

Records:

• Western New England: 8-7, 4-4 CNE
• Johnson & Wales University: 8-6, 6-3 CNE

How it Happened:

First Quarter:

• Both teams got off to a quick start in the opening five minutes of the game, as JWU took an early 2-1 lead. Sydney Mayers had the opening strike for the Wildcats before Lyndsey Bunnell answered for her 20^th of the season. The Wildcats came around with the next goal when Kelsey Higgins scored for the 27^th time on the year, as JWU regained its lead. 
• Carlie Francis was able to cause a turnover and rushed down the field to score an unassisted tally at the 6:48 mark of the quarter to tie the game at two. JWU answered just over a minute later when Rhya Saloom scored her 6^th of the season to give the Wildcats a 3-2 lead.
• No scoring followed as the Golden Bears and Wildcats exchanged turnovers to end the quarter. The Wildcats held the 11-5 shot lead after one quarter of play, a 6-2 advantage in shots on goal. Emily Picolla made three saves for Western New England in the opening 15 minutes. 

Second Quarter:

• JWU opened a two-goal lead just three minutes into the second quarter when Kelsey Higgins fired her 28^th goal of the season into the back of the net. Ella Henry had the answer for the Golden Bears, scoring her 40^th goal of the year at the 9:14 mark of the quarter to get Western New England within one again, 5-3. 
• WNE could never get within one in the quarter as JWU extended its lead on goals from Cassie Burke and Addison Stratton to end the quarter, as the Wildcats led 6-3 at the half. 
• Both teams took six shots with JWU leading 4-2 in shots on goal. JWU's Kylie O'Keefe made three saves for the Wildcats between the pipes.

Third Quarter:

• The two teams combined for nine goals in the third quarter. Ella Henry had the opening goal of the frame, just 54 seconds into the quarter for the Golden Bears to get back within two, trailing 6-4. JWU made a run following, scoring the next four goals of the game to take a commanding 10-4 lead. 
• Western New England showed fight in the final four and a half minutes of the quarter, scoring three of the final four goals, as Carlie Francis, Lyndsey Bunnell, and Lina Eves all found twine, getting the Golden Bears back within four, 11-7 after 45 minutes of play.  
• JWU led with nine shots in the quarter, while WNE had six on goal. 

Fourth Quarter:

• The first goal of the quarter didn't come until the 9:05 mark when JWU's Cassie Burke had her 37^th of the year to give the Wildcats a 12-7 lead. Western New England struggled to find its offensive footing in the fourth quarter and didn't come away with a goal until the 4:53 mark when Francis netted her third of the evening to get the Golden Bears within four. 
• WNE had a pair of good chances at goal following the goal from Francis, but the JWU defense came up large to keep the Golden Bears from scoring. Lina Eves added one more goal for Western New England with 43 seconds to play, but it would not be enough, as Johnson & Wales knocked off WNE by a final score of 12-9. 

Inside the Lines:

• Lyndsey Bunnell led Western New England with five points, two goals on two shots on goal, and also picked up three assists. 
• Carlie Francis had three goals for WNE, while both Ella Henry and Lina Eves scored two each. 
• Francis, Christina Harris, and Gabby Sliwka had two caused turnovers each. 
• Emily Picolla made nine saves for Western New England in the 60-minute effort. 
• Prior to the start of the game, the Golden Bears celebrated its 2026 senior class. Charlotte Orr, Ella Henry, Lina Eves, Sydney Miles, and Samantha Montecalvo were all honored. 

Up Next on the Schedule:

• The Golden Bears travel to Curry College for their final regular-season road contest on Saturday, April 18 at 11:00 AM.