NEWTON, Mass. (3/28/15) – The Lasell College men's lacrosse team defeated Albertus Magnus College, 18-6, in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) action on Saturday afternoon at Grellier Field. With the win, the Lasers improve to 5-3 overall and 2-1 in conference play, while the Falcons fall to 0-7 this spring and 0-3 in GNAC contests.
The Lasers' offense received two goals apiece from seniors Jason Donovan (Weymouth, Mass.), Joe Cunning (Newton, Mass.) and Robbie Palazzo (Redding, Conn.) as well as sophomore Anthony Saitta (Derry, N.H.). Seniors Aaron LaPorte (Gorham, Maine) and Mike Dupont (Dover, N.H.), juniors Pat Egan (Glen Rock, N.J.) and Casey Sullivan (Quaker Hill, Conn.), and sophomores Chase Swift (Branford, Conn.), Peter Dolan (Pearl River, N.Y.) and Josh Gallant (Hampstead, N.H.) all scored once for Lasell.
Freshmen Matt White (Falmouth, Mass.), Austin Tomasetti (Elmsford, N.Y.), and Evan Doherty (LaGrangeville, N.Y.) also registered single markers for the Lasers. Tomasetti recorded the first goal of his career in the fourth quarter, as Cunning notched a game-high three assists, while LaPorte, Gallant and freshman Alex McCormack-Kuhman all had two helpers this afternoon.
Albertus Magnus was paced by junior Mike Choiniere (Bethany, Conn.) who tallied four goals, while sophomore Justin Bennett (Fairfield, Conn.) and freshman Austin Kozak (West Haven, Conn.) found the back of the cage once to account for the rest of the Falcons' offense. Sophomore Dalton Sargent (Augusta, Maine) recorded both assists for Albertus.
In the opening minutes of the game, LaPorte and Choiniere each netted a goal to knot the score 1-1. Lasell then tallied three unanswered markers – two from Cunning, at 7:15 and 1:20, respectively, and one from Saitta in between – to close the opening stanza with a 4-1 advantage.
Cunning found Sullivan just 1:50 into the second quarter which gave the hosts a 5-1 lead. Albertus pulled off two straight goals on the man-up advantage that cut the deficit to two goals, 5-3. Bennett scored at the 12:28 mark and Sargent fed the ball to Choiniere 54-seconds later to account for the Falcons' third goal of the afternoon.
With 8:35 left in the second quarter, the Lasers secured the victory by scoring the games' next ten goals which made the score 15-3. Tomasetti registered his first career collegiate goal that closed the spurt with 11:15 to play. Swift added to the Lasers' lead (18-4) with his first career goal with 4:56 left on the clock after coming up with the ground ball off of the face-off and potted the ball over the goalkeepers' shoulder.
Choiniere scored two goals – one unassisted at the 3:14 mark and the second with 1:19 to play – to close the contest for the visitors, but the Lasers' defense contained the run and claimed its second GNAC victory of the season, 18-6, on a snowy Saturday afternoon.
Lasell junior goalkeeper David Walen (Longmeadow, Mass.) earned his third win of the season (3-3) with his three saves through the opening 38:45 of the matchup. Classmate Chris Thomas-Ikier (Burlington, Mass.) came on in relief over the next 15:11 and sophomore Jorge Salazar (Waltham, Mass.) closed the contest, over the final 6:04, in the cage for the Lasers in his third appearance of the spring. Albertus goalkeeper Jack Kerner (Merrick, N.Y.) stopped the ball 24 times for the Falcons' in a complete game effort.
Defensively for the Lasers, freshman Eddie Stokes (Billerica, Mass.) scooped up a team-high six ground balls, while senior Derek Marshall (Cumberland, R.I.) picked up five ground balls. Swift went 8-for-14 on face-offs, while freshman Brendan Dwyer (Northport, N.Y.) controlled seven face-offs of his own.
Lasell held a 49-28 advantage in ground balls, won 15-of-27 face-offs, went 17-for-23 on clearing attempts and 4-for-7 on the man-up advantage, while the Falcons were 15-for-26 in transition this afternoon.
Both teams return to action on the road next Wednesday, April 1. Lasell travels to Saint Joseph's (Me.) for a 7:00 p.m. GNAC matchup at Deering Memorial Stadium, while Albertus Magnus heads to Mitchell College for a non-conference contest at 4:00 p.m.