Springfield, MA—The Springfield men’s lacrosse team cruised past Lasell College, 19-4, in a Pilgrim League contest on Wednesday evening on Stagg Field. The Pride, who were ranked seventh in the most recent NEILA Division III Coaches’ Poll, rattled off 13 goals to start the game, and entered halftime with a 13-1 lead. The loss drops the Lasers to 1-8 overall, 0-2 in Pilgrim League play. Springfield stands at 4-4 on the season, with a 2-0 conference mark.
Springfield dominated the stats, more than doubling Lasell’s shot opportunities and ground ball pickups. Lasell also struggled to keep possession, committing 33 turnovers to Springfield’s 18. The Lasers won 11-of-25 face-offs, eight of which were secured by Anthony Erz (Hampton, NJ). Erz also had a team-high five ground balls in the contest.
Joe Heney and Austin Orsini were responsible for ten of the Pride’s total points, each producing five points for the victors. Heney scored the opening goal of the game, unassisted, and then set up four additional shots for his teammates. Orsini tallied a hat trick all in the second quarter, and was credited with two assists.
Mark Eaton collected 11-of-16 face-off attempts for the hosts, and Marc Martinez earned the win in the Pride’s cage making five saves while yielding three goals. Matt Cipolla relieved Martinez after 41 minutes, making four stops and allowing one goal.
Lasell’s Brian Yepez (Hillsborough, NJ) scored two goals for the visitors in the defeat. Yepez broke the Lasers scoring drought with 2:53 left in the first half, taking a pass from Sam Wilcox (Norfolk, MA), and then also scored the final goal of the game unassisted.
Jon Elia (East Lyme, CT) and Adam Foss (Billerica, MA) each scored once for the Lasers in the third quarter. Elia scored at 8:53, assisted by Patrick Bresnahan (Manchester, NH) who had picked up a rebound off a previous Laser shot. Foss followed with a goal ten seconds later, winning the face-off and sprinting down field and getting an immediate score.
Lasell’s starting goalkeeper Eric Walsh (Weymouth, MA) made seven saves in just over thirty minutes before being replaced by Tyler Silliman (Windsor, CT) for the remainder of the contest. Silliman turned away six Springfield shots in the second half.
The Lasers are scheduled to face-off against Clark University on Saturday, April 10th for their next Pilgrim League matchup. The Lasers and the Cougars will meet at Granger Field at 7:00 p.m.