LEWISTON, ME – In the Lasell College men's lacrosse season opener, the Lasers were downed by Bates College, 8-1, on Garcelon Field.
The game was uncommonly low-scoring on both sides leaving the Lasers in arrears just 3-0 through three quarters. In the final period, the Bobcats extended their lead to 8-0 with five straight tallies before Lasell's Chris Livelli (Hillsborough, NJ) netted the Lasers sole mark, unassisted, in the final 48 seconds of the contest.
Bates connected on 2-of-4 on-goal attempts in the first quarter, while Bobcat goal keeper Adam Scharff (Glyndon, Md.) held the Lasers off by scooping up all four on-target shots in the frame.
The second period was more even as the Bobcats held a slight 7-6 edge in shots, and both Scharff and Lasell's goalie Eric Walsh (Weymouth, MA) made four stops in the quarter. Bates was successful in netting one goal after nearly 14 minutes of a scoring drought when Jason Hichborn (Yarmouth, ME) converted on a feed by Luke Charest (Freeport, ME) at the 13:41 mark.
At halftime, Bates had produced a 3-0 advantage on the scoreboard, holding the edge in shots (16-12), ground balls (21-14), face-offs (3-5), and saves (8-6). Lasell was unsuccessful in three extra-man opportunities in the half, while Bates was ineffective on one extra-man opportunity.
After the break, the teams battled through a scoreless period spanning the entire 15 minutes of the third quarter. The Bobcats were dominant in the period, outshooting the Lasers 11-2, with Walsh picking up four saves.
Quickly in the fourth quarter Bates opened up a large lead as three goals were scored in the first four minutes. Lasell got nine shots off in the frame and held the advantage in face-offs (4-7) and ground balls (9-8) but Schraff turned aside four of the Lasers five shots on goal.
With 1:18 left to play, Hichborn extended the Bobcats lead to 8-0 though just 30 seconds later Livelli would spoil the Bobcats' shutout.
Scharff finished the game with 12 saves and collected a game-high five ground balls. Walsh made 15 stops, adding three ground balls in the season debut.
Sean Speciale (Hillsborough, NJ) produced a team-best four ground balls in the game and Adam Foss (Billerica, MA) went 3-3 in face offs.
Bates outshot Lasell by a 39-23 margin and won the ground ball advantage, 35-25.
Lasell plays its home opener on Wednesday, March 9th at 3:30 p.m. against Roger Williams University on Grellier Field.