MIDDLETOWN, R.I. – The Lasell College men's lacrosse team dropped their season opener at Salve Regina, falling 15-5 on Saturday afternoon. Salve Regina improved to 2-0 on the year while the Lasers open the season at 0-1.
Freshmen Josh Gallant (Hampstead, N.H.) scored his first collegiate goal and handed out two assists for Lasell, sophomore Pat Egan (Glen Rock, N.J.) registered a goal and an assist, while junior Dylan Fernandes (Billerica, Mass.), freshmen Connor Johnson (Hampstead, N.H.) and sophomore Casey Sullivan (Waterford, Conn.) each recorded goals for the Lasers. Freshmen Sean Fitzgerald (Billerica, Mass.) led the Lasers on the defensive side with four caused turnovers and four groundballs.
Senior Dan Parks (Nesconset, N.Y.) and sophomore James Fee (Massapequa, N.Y.) combined for eight points for the Seahawks as both notched hat tricks. Parks led the team with four goals while Fee added three goals and an assist. Senior Curtis McKeon (West Haven, Conn.) was once again strong at the face-off spot for Salve Regina, winning 18 of 22 on the day. Freshman Eric Backus (Mansfield, Mass.) gained possession of the ball off a missed shot by Salve Regina and fed it to McKeon to the left of the net who ripped it into the goal from 15 yards out to give SRU a 1-0 lead just 41 seconds into the game.
Lasell evened the score at 1-1 a minute later when Casey Sullivan went coast-to-coast with the ball after a save from junior goalie David Walen (Longmeadow, Mass.). Backus picked up his second assist of the game as he fed the ball to sophomore Alex Flynn (Nashua, N.H.) for his first goal of the season for Salve Regina giving the Seahawks a 2-1 lead heading into the second quarter.
The Seahawks outscored the Lasers 7-0 in the second to take a commanding 9-1 lead. The hosts started their run less than a minute into the period on a Parks goal making it 3-1 at the 14:04 mark. After Fee and Parks went back-to-back for a pair of goals to extend SRU's lead to 5-1, sophomore Sharp Jones (Scituate, Mass.) netted a man-up goal to give Salve Regina a 6-1 lead with 6:39 left in the first half. Less than a minute later, Fee followed up with a man up goal of his own off a long pass from freshman Nick LoCicero (Lynbrook, N.Y.) to extend the lead to 7-1. Backus and Parks went back-to-back for Backus' first of the game and Parks' third to give Salve Regina a 9-1 lead to take into halftime.
Lasell opened the third quarter with a pair of goals to cut the Salve Regina lead to 9-3. With the Lasers on a two-man advantage on their first extra man chance of the quarter, freshman Josh Gallant (Hampstead, N.H.) took the ball to the net himself for his first of the game with 12:17 to play in the quarter. Back at even strength, Gallant fed the ball to junior Dylan Fernandes for his first of the game to cut the Seahawk lead to 9-3 with 9:33 left in the quarter.
Parks completed his career-day with his fourth goal of the game with 5:18 to play in the third and once again the Seahawks killed off an extra man opportunity that spanned the final minute of the quarter to keep Lasell at bay and carried the 10-3 lead into the final quarter.
A pair of goals 25 seconds into the 4th quarter gave Salve Regina a 13-3 lead, putting the game away. The Lasers got two back later in the game as freshman Connor Johnson got the ball from sophomore Pat Egan on the next faceoff and sent home his first of the season to cut the Seahawk lead to 15-4 with 6:25 to play. Egan scored the final goal of the game off a pass from Gallant after the Lasers cleared the ball off a save from
Watkins earned his second win in net for Salve Regina, needing just 10 saves over the 56:58 in net. Sophomore Brian Farina (Jenkintown, Pa.) finished the game in goal for Salve Regina, stopping the only shot he faced in 3:02 of action. Chris Thomas-Ikier (Burlington, Mass.) took the loss for the Lasers, allowing 12 goals while making 15 saves in 38:10. David Walen started the game in net for Lasell, making five saves and allowing three goals in 21:50.
Salve Regina returns to action when the Seahawks travel to in-state rival Johnson & Wales on Wednesday, March 5 for a 4 p.m. game. The Lasers travel to Roger Williams on Wednesday for a 4 p.m. start as well.