SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (Saturday, September 12, 2026) -- Salve Regina University football put up points in all four quarters to defeat Western New England University by a final score of 24-21. The Seahawks (2-0) also caused four Golden Bears (0-2) turnovers with intercepted passes by three players --
Trevor Jones (Duxbury, Mass.) picked off two while
Dylan DeAngelis (Duxbury, Mass.) and
Dallas St. Peter (Essex Junction, Vt.) each had one. St. Peter picked off a pass for the second straight week.
Salve Regina improves to 18-14 all-time in football against Western New England. The Seahawks won the first 11 meetings and now have won three of the last four. Last year in Newport, the Golden Bears came back from a 22-point deficit to force overtime before
Thomas Fallon (Freehold, N.J.) found
Jacoby Smith (Middletown, R.I.) for a five-yard game-winning touchdown for the Seahawks. Salve Regina wins in Springfield, Mass., for the first time since 2012 (43-0) and ends a six-game road skid against Western New England.
Salve Regina opened the scoring with a touchdown on its opening offensive possession of the game, capping off a seven-play, 72-yard drive, as
Spencer Chapman (Needham, Mass.) hauled in a 25-yard touchdown pass from
Stephen Paradiso (Cedar Grove, N.J.), giving the Seahawks a 7-0 lead. The Seahawks extended the advantage to two scores when
Ethan Lemos (Wethersfield, Conn.) caught a 19-yard touchdown pass from Paradiso after Jones picked off his first pass at the Golden Bears' 22-yard line near the end of the first quarter.
WNE continued to move the ball effectively on the ground, with
Matt LaMontagne (Wolcott, Conn.),
Marcus Crawford (Springfield, Mass.), and
Matthew McGuire (Oxford, Conn.) helping the Golden Bears sustain a lengthy drive from their own one-yard line. The Golden Bears converted a pair of fourth downs on the drive before reaching the Salve Regina five-yard line, where
Corey Kilroy (South Walpole, Mass.) rushed five yards for a touchdown with 1:54 remaining in the half. A 17-yard pass to
James Burg (Hopewell Junction, N.Y.) kept the drive alive, while Kilroy put WNE on the board, trailing 14-7.
In the second half, Salve Regina's opening drive stalled at the WNE 30-yard line on a 4th-and-16 incomplete pass.
Brody McKenna's (Attleboro, Mass.) tackle for a two-yard loss on 4th-and-3 for the Golden Bears got the Seahawks the ball back at the WNE 40-yard line. Six plays later
Nathan DiRado (Carver, Mass.) nailed his first field goal of the season from 28 yards out for a 17-7 lead.
Into the final quarter, LaMontagne capped a 10-play, 74-yard drive with a seven-yard carry into the end zone. After starting their ensuing drive at their own 12-yard line, Salve Regina chewed up over nine minutes on the clock with
Padraig Brown (Newington, Conn.) diving in from two yards out on a 4th-and-Goal option play. It took 17 plays and 88 yards for the Seahawks to regain the two-score advantage. Paradiso had a pair of fourth-down conversion passes to Lemos in the final Seahawk scoring drive.
Down 24-14, WNE quickly moved down the field, seeing QB
Drew Caouette (Waterbury, Conn.) connect with McGuire for a 31-yard gain on 4th-and-8 before finding McGuire again for a nine-yard touchdown with 33 seconds remaining. The Golden Bears attempted an onside kick following the touchdown, but Salve Regina's
Michael Fulton (Milton, Mass.) was able to recover the attempt to ice the game, securing the visitors a 24-21 victory.
In addition to the four interceptions, Salve Regina's defense was spearheaded by 11 tackles from
Colin Morley (Scituate, Mass.) and 10 from McKenna.
Owen Nanartowich (Hudson, Mass.) added eight tackles and
Rocco Del Giorno (Staten Island, N.Y.) finished with seven stops.
ON THE HORIZON
Salve Regina seeks to sweep its non-conference slate when the Seahawks host the Pioneers of William Paterson next Saturday, September 19, with a 2 p.m. kickoff at Toppa Field on
FloCollege.
