SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (September 11, 2026) – The Western New England football team will begin its 2026 home schedule on Saturday afternoon, when the Seahawks of Salve Regina University visit Springfield at 1:00 PM. The Golden Bears will look for revenge in more ways than one on Saturday, after Salve Regina knocked off WNE last season, as the Blue and Gold go for their first win of the season. 

Saturday afternoon's contest will be WNE football's ALS Awareness Game. WNE will honor former Golden Bear Anthony Baldino, who was diagnosed with ALS in 2024, ahead of kickoff. Anthony will be Western New England's honorary captain on Saturday afternoon. To read more about Anthony's courageous battle with ALS, click here.

Last Time Out:
Western New England dropped its season opener last week to Springfield College on the road in the 13^th Annual Pynchon SAW Game, 42-28. The Golden Bears never led in the game, seeing the Pride come away with a 14-0 lead after the first quarter and never looked back. Despite trailing by as many as 21 points in the game, the Golden Bears fought back with a late touchdown, but it would not be enough to overcome the big deficit, falling on the road in the 2026 season opener. 
The Golden Bears totaled 301 yards of offense in the game, picking up 174 pass yards and 127 yards on the ground. The Blue and Gold collected 17 first downs, five on the ground, six through the air, and six first downs coming on Springfield College penalties. The contest opened with a pair of quick touchdowns from Springfield, who scored the only 14 points of the opening quarter, converting a 49-yard run and a 65-yard catch-and-run to open the game with a 14-0 lead. WNE fought back to score its first touchdown of the season early in the second quarter when a 29-yard run put WNE on the scoreboard. The Pride put up a 28-yard run later in the second quarter to take a 21-7 lead at the break. 

Western New England opened the third quarter with a 12-play, 75-yard drive, capped off with a three-yard touchdown run to get back within seven, 21-14. It was the Pride who, once again, scored a late touchdown to end the quarter, this one coming with just 40 seconds left, to regain the 14-point lead. Springfield College picked up a 62-yard touchdown run to put the dagger in the Golden Bears, leading 35-14. Despite scoring 14 points in the final quarter, WNE fell by a final score of 42-28. 

Offensive Leaders:
Corey Kilroy saw the bulk of the snaps at the quarterback position for the Golden Bears last Friday night, throwing eight completions on 18 attempts for 116 yards and one touchdown pass. Paul Gorry completed four of five passes in limited action, throwing for 58 yards. On the ground, WNE saw graduate student Marcus Crawford lead the way with six carries for 55 yards, scoring his first career touchdown in Blue and Gold. Kilroy was also effective with his legs, rushing ten times for 52 yards, and scoring a touchdown. Matt LaMontagne crossed the goal line once over 11 rushes, netting 34 yards overall. Through the air, the Golden Bears saw John DeCamps lead the way with four catches for 93 yards. Kevin Acosta caught WNE's lone touchdown through the air, accumulating four catches for 78 yards total in the loss. 

Defensive Leaders:
The WNE defense picked up four sacks last Friday night, with four different Golden Bears bringing down the Springfield College quarterback, including Michael Canavatchel, Gavin Russo, Sean DuTremble, and Ben Tokarev. Anthony Sturniolo led all tacklers for Western New England with nine total tackles, six solo and three assisted. Nick Kolifrath forced a fumble and recorded four solo and four assisted tackles in the game. All of Rashawn Shelton, Ben Caulfield, Henry Rodrigues, and Dimaggio Ferrara recorded six tackles for the Golden Bears. 

WNE Special Teams:
Rhys Suprenant punted six times in the loss against Springfield College, averaging just south of 42 yards per punt. Suprenant collected one punt for over 50 yards and pinned the Pride back inside the 20-yard line once. Max LoGrasso converted all four extra points for the Golden Bears, though he did not attempt any field goals in the game. LoGrasso kicked off five times for WNE, netting 186 yards. 

Christian Delgado returned one of three Springfield College punts in the game, while Marcus Crawford returned a pair of kickoffs for 54 total yards. 

The Game:
Western New England looks for its first win of the 2026 season, while the Seahawks look to remain unblemished following a 21-13 victory last week over UMass-Dartmouth. The Golden Bears are 14-6 all-time against Salve Regina, though the Seahawks have taken two of the last three meetings from the Blue and Gold. 

To watch the live stream, click here. 

To follow the live statistics, click here. 

For information on tailgating and/or ticketing, click here.