SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (April 30) -- Junior midfielder Patrick White had three goals with an assist to lead top-seeded Western New England to a 14-3 victory over eighth-seeded Nichols in a quarterfinal round game of The Commonwealth Coast Conference (TCCC) Men's Lacrosse Championship Saturday night (Apr. 30).

The Golden Bears (13-4) will host fourth-seeded New England College (who defeated fifth-seeded Roger Williams 9-8) on Wednesday (May 4) in a semifinal contest. Nichols ends its season with a 4-10 record.

Senior midfielder Colin Houlihan added two goals and an assist while sophomore attacker Corrigan Harreys contributed a pair of goals in the win. Junior attacker Andrew Mariani and freshman midfielder Colton Craig each chipped-in with a goal and assist.

Sophomore defender Brian Leistikow picked-up seven ground balls while junior midfielder Joe Martin had six ground balls in addition to winning eight-of-nine face-offs. Junior goalie Brewster Knowlton turned away six shots in earning his 12th victory of the season.

Nichols took an early 1-0 lead following a goal by senior attacker Ryan Pacific (Danbury, Conn.) at 9:29 of the opening period.

Senior midfielder Bill Greider evened the score just nine seconds later with his first goal of the season, then White gave the Golden Bears a 2-1 advantage with 3:15 left in the quarter. Western New England broke the game open with eight goals in the second stanza to take a 10-2 lead at the break.

Sophomore attacker Steven Delahanty (Auburn, N.H.) tallied a goal with an assist from Pacific to get the Bison within 5-2 at the 9:35 mark before the hosts ran off five straight goals to end the half.

Sophomore attacker Matthew Caulfield (Fairfield, Conn.) had the other goal for Nichols. Junior goalie Scott Gray (Annapolis, Md.) compiled 13 saves and had a team-high six ground balls.

Western New England had a 47-20 advantage in shots and had 48 ground balls while Nichols had 20.


Story courtesy Western New England Sports Information

Box Score -- coming soon