WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – The University of Hartford Women's Lacrosse team hosts the Conference of New England (CNE) tournament for the first time on Saturday, April 26th, when they take on Western New England at 12:00 PM. 

No.  3 University of Hartford Hawks (11-5, 7-2 CNE)
No.  6 Western New England (5-11, 4-5 CNE)

Game Headlines:

Hartford will host and play in its first conference playoff game in Women's Lacrosse history. This comes in just the first season the Hawks have been able to compete in the CNE Tournament. The Western New England Golden Bears come back to Al-Marzook Field at Alumni Stadium after falling to Hartford in their regular season matchup by the score of 20-12.

Hartford Headlines:

• The Hawks ended the regular season with their first season in program history with double-digit wins, tallying 11. Hartford handled business in conference play in 2025, finishing with a 7-2 record and winning games in convincing fashion.
• The teams offensive attack is driven by the two-headed monster that is sophomore Madison Olmstead (Wolcott, Conn.) and senior captain Meghan Smith (Orange, Conn.). Olmstead and Smith both have goal totals up into the 60s, and both eclipsed the 100-goal and 100-point marks during their 2025 season. The Hawks' offensive attack has also been supplemented by sophomore Laurel McIntosh (West Kingston, R.I.) and sophomore captain Talei Ricketson (Centennial, Colo.).
• Junior captain Samantha Ciaglo (Colchester, Conn.) has led the charge defensively for the Hawks, leading the team with 41 ground balls and 20 caused turnovers. Junior Sara Costa (Shrub Oak, N.Y.) has also been a defensive staple for Hartford, accumulating 29 ground balls and 12 turnovers. Some other notable defenders for the Hawks include freshman Allison O'Donnell (Goshen, N.Y.) and junior Shelby Frashure (Pasadena, Md.). The offensive players were not the only ones achieving career milestones, as Frashure became the first player in program history to cause 50 career turnovers during her 2025 campaign. 
• In net, sophomore Mandi Rivard (Vernon, Conn.) put together a solid season for Hartford, compiling 117 saves in just over 823 minutes of play time. Rivard also received CNE Defensive Player of the Week honors in late March for her outstanding play in goal.

Western New England Headlines:

• WNE travels to West Hartford for the second time this season hoping to spoil the Hawks' legendary season and pick up their first road victory. The Golden Bears are led by head coach Aimee Klepacki in her 26th season at the helm. Western New England is a staggering 284-159 overall during Coach Klepacki's tenure.
• On the offensive end, the Golden Bears are led by senior midfielder Mia Celentano. Celentano registered 53 goals and 19 assists on the year, all while doubling up her next closest teammate in total points.
• Sophomore Emily Picolla held it down for WNE in the net, making 139 saves in nearly 900 minutes of playing time for her squad.
• As a team, the Golden Bears scored 10 goals per game on average while allowing 12.75 to their opponents.

All-Time Against University of New England:

• Hartford holds a 2-0 record all-time against Western New England, with match ups only dating back to last year. Olmstead and Smith led the charge last year with six combined goals in route to a 15-10 victory on the road. It was more of the same in this year's 20-12 victory as the duo netted 12 more together, with seven from Olmstead and five from Smith.