SPRINGFIELD, MA- The Nazareth men's lacrosse team picked up its first win of the 2026 season on the road Sunday afternoon in an out-of-conference match against the Western New England Golden Bears. A strong second half propelled the Golden Flyers to win the game 13-6. Nazareth improves to 1-6 overall on the season. 

How it Happened:

• Both teams came out hot early on, trading offensive chances. Nazareth would strike first just under 2 minutes in as senior Matthew Farrington tucked in his 6th of the season. Nazareth would bury once again just 3 minutes and 53 seconds later. Junior Anthony Menickelli would score his 2nd of the season to put the Golden Flyers up 2 early on.
• Western New England would come back and tally twice to end the first quarter at 2-2
• The Golden Bears got the scoring frenzy started early in the 2nd quarter to take a 3-2 lead. Nazareth, however, responded right away with a goal from freshman attacker Noah Olbrich, proving to be his first collegiate goal. Western New England responded yet again with a goal to take the lead, 4-3. 
• Nazareth continued to put heavy pressure on the Golden Bear goaltender, and it would eventually pay off. Nazareth exploded to end the second quarter, scoring four unanswered goals. Senior midfielder William Meagher got the party started for Nazareth, scoring his 4th of the season. Senior Kyle Rosenberger scored back-to-back goals for his 15th and 16th of the year.
• Senior Joey Hathorn scored his 5th of the season with 5 seconds remaining in the first half to put Nazareth up 7-4 heading into the third quarter. 
• Nazareth continued to dominate offensively heading into the second half. Farrington and Olbrich each scored their second of the afternoon. This was followed up by two goals from senior William O'Neill, who scored his 8th and 9th of the season. Nazareth was strong defensively, not giving the Golden Bears room to breathe. Freshman goaltender Sven Habitzreuther was dominant in the crease with 6 saves on 6 Western New England shots. \
• Nazareth entered the final frame with a 7-goal lead. They continued to face a desperate Golden Bear squad who threw everything they had at the Golden Flyers. Farrington would tally 2 more goals to put Nazareth up 13-4. Western New England continued to come at the Flyers as they found the back of the net twice more to put the score at 13-6 to finish the final quarter. 

Game Notes:

• Farrington led the charge for Nazareth, scoring 4 goals to tally his season total to 9. 
• Olbrich scored his first career collegiate goal and followed it up with another. 
• Rosenberger continued his early-season dominance with 2 goals and 2 assists to notch a 4-point night. 
• Nicholas Hinck had a strong defensive game, picking up 7 ground balls. 
• Habitzreuther stopped 12 shots to pick up his first collegiate win. 

Up Next:
Nazareth will hit the road over spring break, traveling down south to Tennessee to take on the Sewanee College Tigers in an out-of-state, out of-conference matchup on Friday, March 20th, at 5 PM EST.