NEWTON, Mass. (3/23/16) – The Lasell men's lacrosse team kept their perfect record on Grellier Field following an 8-7 victory over Wentworth Institute of Technology on Wednesday afternoon. The Lasers improve to 4-2 overall, while the Leopards remain winless at 0-6.
Sophomore Austin Tomasetti (Elmsford, N.Y.) registered his three hat trick of the season with a pair of unassisted goals and a marker from senior Pat Egan (Glen Rock, N.J.). Egan added two additional helpers in the victory, while senior Casey Sullivan (Quaker Hill, Conn.) and freshman Ryan Madden (Hingham, Mass.) each netted two goals of their own. Junior Josh Gallant (Hampstead, N.H.) accounted for Lasell's remaining goal while adding two assists.
The Leopards saw two goals from senior Nick Parent (Windham, N.H.), and freshmen Jason Buck (Manlius, N.Y.) and Cameron Criniti (Berlin, Conn.), with senior Alex Paradis (Pelham, N.H.) assisting Parent and Criniti.
Parent broke open the scoring on the transition from a Lasell turnover, but would be held to one as Tomasetti and Gallant pushed the lead to 3-1 heading into the break.
The Leopards switched gears into the second stanza, outshooting the hosts 23-11. After Buck and sophomore Kevin Butler (Jefferson, Mass.) put away two of WIT's five fourth quarter markers, Madden added his second of the day off Gallant's stick, before Egan found Sullivan for the last Lasell goal of the afternoon.
Three straight goals from Wentworth, highlighted by back-to-back points from Criniti, pulled the visitors within a single point, 8-7, with 2:20 left on the game clock. At the following faceoff, freshman Sean Brennan (Stony Point, N.Y.) came out with the ground ball, where Paradis and Parent both misfired shots to net for the equalizer opportunity. The Leopards gained possession after junior Eric Iacaboni (Sterling, Mass.) caused a turnover on Lasell, where WIT took its final time out with 19 seconds remaining.
The Leopards' final attempt at the attack would backfire, as senior Mike Pino (Tewksbury, Mass.) stole away the opportunity with a caused turnover to seal the victory for Lasell 8-7.
Wentworth held a 33-21 advantage in ground balls, highlighted by a game-best seven from Brennan, while also outshooting the Lasers 35-21.
Junior netminder Jorge Salazar (Portland, Maine) earned his fourth win of the year (4-1) with and 11 save performance, while sophomore Scott Boucher (Salisbury, N.H.) suffered the loss in net for Wentworth (0-1) with four saves on 12 shots faced.
Both teams return to action on Saturday, March 26 at 12:00 p.m. in a non-conference affair. The Lasers will host the Vikings of Salem State, while the Leopards travel to Emmanuel College.