SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The Roger Williams University men's lacrosse team fell to Western New England on Tuesday evening, falling 21-12, handing the Hawks their first loss in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) action at Golden Bear Stadium.

The Golden Bears out shot the Hawks 26-38, holding a 31-20 edge in shots on goal. Western New England also had a 22-13 edge in faceoffs with a 45-33 advantage in ground balls.

Kevin Murphy and Matt Hemmert each had six points with five goals and an assist, while Brian Gazard added four points with three assists. Tyler Zanini had a pair of caused turnovers in the game with five ground balls, with David Rizzo and Chris Giorgi each picking up five ground balls, as Rizzo went 9-for-18 in faceoff attempts.

Dylan Hanley had seven points to lead the way for the Golden Bears with a pair of caused turnovers and two ground balls. Chris Catuosco had 16 ground balls with a pair of goals going 16-for-24 on his face off attempts.

Hanley struck twice in the opening 2:15, putting Western New England up 2-0. Jack Houlden and Thomas Labbe then each added a goal to take an early 4-0 lead with 8:05 remaining in the opening quarter.

The Hawks responded with Gazard finding Hemmert twice over a span of 2:39, with Hemmert potting both passes into the back of the cage, cutting the lead in half. After Joseph Bussinelli gave the Golden Bears a 5-2 advantage, Murphy and Gazard struck for the Hawks to cut the deficit down to one. The Golden Bears added two more goals to end the first quarter, holding a 7-4 lead.

After an early goal by Jacob Roy, doubled the Hawks score for WNE, the Hawks watched as Murphy scored two goals to cut the Golden Bear lead back down to two. Labbe, Max Rudgers, and Chris Catuosco put a string of three straight goals together, before Riley Spellman, Murphy and Hemmert did the same for Roger Williams to trail 11-9 heading into the half.

Western New England took control scoring six straight goals, while holding the Hawks scoreless, taking a 17-9 lead into the final 15 minutes of action. The Hawks were able to strike three times in the final quarter but the Golden Bears struck four times in the frame to close out the win.

Roger Williams (11-3, 4-1 CCC) will face #19 Endicott on Saturday, Apr. 13 at 3:00 pm at Hempstead Stadium. The Hawks will then host Nichols in their home regular season finale on Tuesday, Apr. 16 at 4:00 pm on Bayside Field.