Box Score

DUDLEY, Mass. – Junior Joe Lambert (New Haven, Conn.) hauled in six receptions for 132 yards and one touchdown in Nichols College's 44-20 loss to Western New England University in New England Football Conference (NEFC) action Saturday afternoon at Vendetti Field on Homecoming Weekend.

Senior Jacob Shoup (Boca Raton, Fla.) and junior Pat Viencek (Bernardston, Mass.) combined to throw for 297 yards and three touchdowns for the Bison (0-4, 0-1 NEFC), which also received touchdown catches from senior David Gonzalez (Springfield, Mass.) and junior Dylan Rimsky (Denville, N.J.). Viencek finished his afternoon with 244 yards passing and a pair of scoring strikes while Shoup completed 8-of-12 attempts for 53 yards and one score as Nichols piled up a season-high 336 yards on offense.

Sophomore Julon McCoy (Gardner, Mass.) racked up a game-high 13 tackles (eight solo) on defense – including two for loss – while senior Peter Curto (Braintree, Mass.) and junior Mario Pires (New Bedford, Mass.) each tallied 11 tackles. Curto and fellow senior co-captain Joe Bresse (Foxboro, Mass.) each recorded one sack.

The Golden Bears outgained the Bison 253-89 in the first half and build a 28-0 halftime lead. Sophomore back Kevin Cook (Hamburg, N.J.) rushed for 90 yards on 11 carries and a pair of touchdowns to spark the WNE offense, highlighted by a 47-yard touchdown run on the second play of the second quarter that gave the visitors a 14-0 lead. Later in the stanza, Cook capped a nine-play, 57-yard drive with a four-yard TD run with 42 ticks on the clock to close the first half scoring. Gonzalez registered 46 receiving yards to pace the Nichols offense.

After forcing the Golden Bears to turn the ball over on downs to open the third, Viencek hooked up with Lambert for a 63-yard touchdown pass to get the Bison on the board at 28-7. The touchdown was the third for Lambert on the season and second of more than 60 yards. Western New England answered with a pair of touchdowns from sophomore Michael Ozzella (Medway, Mass.) – a 34-yard TD pass and a three-yard TD run– to push its lead to 41-7 (two-point conversion failed).

Thirty-six seconds into the fourth quarter, Rimsky capped a four-play, 75-yard drive with a 19-yard touchdown reception from Viencek – his second touchdown catch of the season – to make it 41-14. Later, the Bison stopped the Golden Bears on fourth down, then drove 71 yards before Gonzalez's 11-yard touchdown reception from Shoup cut their deficit to 41-20 (failed two-point conversion). The drive was aided by a pair of 15-yard penalties on Western New England.

Overall, Nichols recovered a pair of onsides kicks in the fourth but failed to convert either into points. Western New England added a late field goal to account for its final margin of victory. The Golden Bears finished the afternoon with 184 yards on the ground – led by Cook with 104 – while junior John Krafick (New Milford, Conn.) completed 16-of-22 attempts for 229 yards and one touchdown. Seven different Golden Bears caught passes, led by sophomore Adam Dunne (Holyoke, Mass.) with five.

Gonzalez caught a game-high nine passes for 63 yards for the Bison and Shoup notched a team-high 27 rushing yards. Nichols was hurt by four turnovers (three interceptions, one fumble) and also saw a blocked punt result in the third Golden Bears' touchdown with 11:28 to go in the second half.

Nichols returns to action on Saturday, Sept. 29 with a 1 p.m. game at Plymouth St. The Golden Bears (3-1, 1-0 NEFC) host first-place Salve Regina Saturday at 1 p.m.