WestConn Falls To WNEC 14-4 in First Round of NCAA Tournament

Box Score

SPRINGFIELD, MA (May 7) – Western New England College cruised to a 14-4 victory over Western Connecticut State University in the first round of the NCAA Division III Men’s Lacrosse Championships at Golden Bear Stadium on Wednesday afternoon.  WNEC, 14-4 advances to the second round and will play St. Lawrence University, 11-2, on Saturday, May 10 in Canton, NY.

The Golden Bears, ranked 15th in the nation in the latest United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association, poll release on Monday, raced out to a 10-0 lead before intermission and their lead was never challenged.   

During their scoring barrage in the first half, Jon Hayes (Waltham, MA), Joe O’Keefe (Branford, CT), Brody Savoie (Wilbraham, MA) and Tim Santye (Skillman, NJ) each netted a pair of goals.

WNEC scored the first three goals following intermission, including a pair from Scott Kukis (Sudbury, MA), and led 13-0.

Hayes, Santye and Kukis each finished with a game-high three goals in the win.

WestConn got on the scoreboard with 6:09 remaining in the third quarter when senior midfielder Dennis Skarda (Danbury, CT) scored his 15th goal of the season.  He added his 16th goal off an assist from John Dipientrantonio (Yorktown Heights, NY).  That marker closed out the scoring with 1:27 left in the game.

Skarda’s two goals led WestConn’s offense in the school’s first-ever trip to the NCAA Tournament.  Ron Pac (Glastonbury, CT) and Tom Begley (East Islip, NY) registered their 25th and 18th goals, respectively, for the Colonials’ other goals.

Chris Body (Newtown, CT) had a stellar performance in goal for the Golden Bears.  The 2007 All-American made 10 saves before yielding to Ben Barlow (Newport, RI) for the final 15 minutes.  Barlow made three stops in relief.

Junior goalie Kyle Wood (Hyde Park, NY) made 11 saves on the afternoon for the Colonials, which end their season at 13-7.

Lacrosse Game Summary (Final)

Western Connecticut (13-7) vs. Western New England (14-4)
Date: May 05, 2008 Location: Springfield, Mass. Stadium: Golden Bear Stadium
Attendance:372 Start time:4:00 pm End time:5:50 pm Total time:1:50

SCORE BY PERIOD .....1 2 3 4 - Tot
-------------------------------------
Western Connecticut. 0 0 2 2 - 4
Western New England. 8 2 4 0 - 14

Western Connecticut SCORING: GOALS: Dennis Skarda 2; Ron Pac 1; Tom
Begley 1.
ASSISTS: Vincent Bevilacqua 1; Jim Dipientrantonio 1.

Western New England SCORING: GOALS: Jon Hayes 3; Tim Santye 3; Scott
Kukis 3; Joe O'Keefe 2; Brody Savoie 2; Mike Kelly 1.
ASSISTS: Mike Kelly 3; Joe O'Keefe 2; Bryan Cofrin 1; Jon Hayes 1; Tim
Heffernan 1; Jared Pabis 1; Brody Savoie 1; Stephen Toomy 1.

Western Connecticut GROUND BALLS: Mat Castelot 5; Adam Lanehart 5; Ron
Pac 4; Alex Gisolfi 3; James Rosenbauer 3; Gary Schultz 3; Terry Stroz
3; Kyle Wood 3; Joseph Aitken 2; Tom Begley 2; Nick Spirito 2; George
Tsirigotis 2; Mike Barnao 1; Stephen Czelatka 1; A. J. Barbieri 1; Tom
Nahornick 1; Dennis Skarda 1; Kirk Zachary 1.

Western New England GROUND BALLS: Matt McAnneny 8; Jedd Brown 6;
Travis Brown 5; Tim Heffernan 5; Brian Praetorius 4; Derek Mantey 3;
Joe O'Keefe 3; Tim Santye 3; Nick Zeleski 3; Bryan Cofrin 2; Brian
Damboise 2; Billy Kelsey 2; Jared Pabis 2; David Teichman 2; Stephen
Toomy 2; Chris Body 1; Chuck Cartelli 1; Nick Coppola 1; Ian
Franckling 1; Jon Hayes 1; Colin Houlihan 1; Mike Kelly 1; Scott Kukis
1; Ben Reardon 1; Brody Savoie 1.

SHOTS - Western Connecticut 33; Western New England 35.
SHOTS ON GOAL - Western Connecticut 17; Western New England 25.

PENALTIES - Western Connecticut 9/7:30; Western New England 7/5:00.
MAN-UP OPPORTUNITIES - Western Connecticut 1-7; Western New England
3-9.

FACEOFFS - Western Connecticut 11-21; Western New England 10-21.

CLEARS - Western Connecticut 21-32; Western New England 28-36.

GOALIES - WCSU: Kyle Wood 12-7 (60:00 minutes, 25 shots-11 saves, 14 GA);
WNEC: Ben Barlow (15:00, 5-3, 2) , Chris Body 11-4 (45:00, 12-10, 2).

Start time: 4:00 pm Finish time: 5:50 pm Length of game: 1:50 A-372
Officials: Tim McCaffrey; Dave Pinciaro; Brian Richardson. Scorer: Scott Ames.