DUDLEY, Mass. (3/26/2025) - The Nichols College men's lacrosse team shouldered a 17-5 loss at the hands of visiting Wentworth Institute of Technology in their first Conference of New England match on Wednesday night at Vendetti Field.

The loss drops Nichols to 2-8 (0-1 CNE) on the year, while Wentworth jumps to 8-2 (1-0 CNE).

Junior John Caserta led the Bison with three goals against the Leopards, his first collegiate hat trick, alongside a solo assist for a four-point performance. It was also a night of firsts for freshman Tyler Olivo, who netted his first collegiate goal early in the fourth quarter. Junior Conor Doherty rounded out the scorers list with his 11^th of the season, as well as two ground balls, while graduate student Cooper Melvin hauled in a team-best six ground balls.

Senior netminder Brady Morgan (2-8) made 16 saves during 46 minutes of action in net. Junior Carter Renaud finished out the remaining 11:37 of the game, stopping four shots.

Wentworth notched the only goal of a lackluster opening quarter, but the action soon ramped up in the second stanza as the two sides added four goals apiece. Caserta opened the scoring for the Bison with the equalizer 1:04 into the period, unassisted, before adding his second of the contest at 12:04 off a pass from Jonah Libby to tie the score a second time for the Bison at 2-2. With the momentum in hand, the Bison added two more goals over the several minutes, including Caserta's third and final strike of the night, giving the host a 3-1 edge late in the half. However, Wentworth found a little momentum of their own, rattling off three unanswered goals in the waning minutes to take a 5-4 lead into the break.

The second half belonged to the Leopards as they went on to control the final 30 minutes of play, outscoring Nichols, 12-1, in the half on the way to the eventual 17-6 final score. Olivo was the lone Bison goal in the half, which came assisted by Caserta at the 13:48 mark of the fourth quarter.

The Bison will now turn their attention to a road match at Gordon College (1-4, 0-1 CNE) on Saturday, March 29^th beginning at 3:00 PM inside the Brigham Complex.