NEWTON, MA- Lasell College men's lacrosse powered past the Daniel Webster College Eagles, 25-3, on the Lasers Senior Day today on Grellier Field. All seven Lasell seniors aided the effort which keeps Lasell at the top of the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) standings with a 7-6 overall record and an unbeaten 5-0 record in the league. Daniel Webster slips to 3-5 this season, and 1-3 in GNAC play.
Four seniors scored for Lasell, including Nick Sampson (Londonderry, NH) and Keith Berliner (Oakland, NJ) who tallied four goals each to lead the offensive charge. Sampson settled up with six total points in the contest, adding two assists to his effort. Chris Bulkley (Groton, CT) and Sean Speciale (Hillsborough, NJ) added two goals each, while combining for a total nine points with five cumulative helpers.
Seniors Anthony Erz (Hampton, NJ), Vincent DiClemente (Wantagh, NY), and Eric Walsh (Weymouth, MA) also had strong showings for Lasell. Erz won 24-of-27 face-offs (89%) and scooped up a game-high 12 ground balls, DiClemente picked up six ground balls, and Walsh was the winning goalkeeper in the match.
Adam Foss (Billerica, MA) notched the initial goal of the contest at 9:20 to start in motion a 13-0 run for Lasell that would span 28:11 of the contest before Daniel Webster even got their first shot attempt off. The Lasers converted on six goals in the first quarter, including a pair from Foss as well as one goal and three assists by Dylan Gray (Bayport, NY).
Gray highlighted the second quarter with a no-look over the shoulder shot at 12:36 to put Lasell on top 7-0. The Lasers then produced six more marks in the second frame before, with 1:02 left before halftime, Antonio Polson (Lanesboro, MA) cut through the middle of fired off the Eagles first shot of the game for a goal.
Lasell held an overwhelming 37-1 advantage in shots in the half as well as 29-5 edge in ground balls, and 14-of-16 face-off wins. Lasell also converted on 6-of-7 clear attempts while Daniel Webster just managed on 5-of-12.
The third quarter was once again dominated by the Lasers who outscored the visitors 10-1 in the period. After a duel penalty on Lasell at the nine minute mark, Daniel Webster's Alex Mckenzie (Nashua, NH) scored, unassisted, for the Eagles, bringing the score to 17-2.
In the final quarter, each team scored once to come upon the final result. Dan Clark (Scarborough, ME) netted Lasell's final mark at 8:24 and Polson connected at 5:44 after driving down the sideline and shooting high over Lasell's goalkeeper Tyler Silliman (Windsor, CT) who played the second half of the contest.
Nate Burr (Southbury, CT) was hit with the loss in the Eagles net, making 11 saves in the defeat. Kieran Kavanaugh (East Lyme, CT) picked up a team-best six ground balls in the losing effort.
Gray topped all players with seven points in the game, scoring a hat trick plus four assists for the game-best. Matt Catalano (Syracuse, NY) also passed out four assists in the game and finished up with five total points and Dylan Fernandes (Billerica, MA) came away with four points, scoring three goals and adding one helper.
The Lasers have two more regular season contests, both in GNAC play, before the post-season begins. On Wednesday, April 20th, Lasell travels to local rival Mount Ida College (6-7, 5-0 GNAC) for a 4:00 p.m. contest which will decide the regular season conference title as well as post-season standings. Both Lasell and Mount Ida are currently undefeated in league action.