NEWTON, Mass. (4/6/16) – Lasell College fell short to the hot-shooting Saints of Emmanuel College, 12-6, in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) men's lacrosse action Wednesday afternoon at Grellier Field. The Lasers snap their perfect home field run at 6-3 overall and shift to 1-1 in the GNAC, while the Saints improve to 3-7 this season and advance to 2-0 in league play.
Four of Lasell's six goal were scored by junior Josh Gallant (Hampstead, N.H.), while sophomore Austin Tomasetti (Elmsford, N.Y.) and freshman Ryan Madden (Hingham, Mass.) netted one goal apiece in the effort.
The jumble of scoring for the Saints was led by junior Donnie Litzelman (Stratham, N.H.), who registered his first hat trick of the season with an additional helper. Seniors Michael Donovan (Assonet, Mass.) and Chris Curtis (Ashland, Mass.) added two goals and one assist apiece, combined with five single markers from junior Toby Cibelli (Wes, Max Bolduc, sophomores Charlie Moran (Maitland, Fla.) and Michael Sousa, and senior Justin Kelly (Collegeville, Pa.).
Curtis struck first on an unassisted blast to net 25 seconds into the contest, only to be answered by the equalizer from Gallant off the stick of senior Casey Sullivan (Quaker Hill, Conn.). The Saints would keep the Lasers at bay for the first quarter's remainder, adding a three goal gap from Donovan, Sousa, and Kelly.
Litzelman opened the second quarter with his first goal of the game 2:47 in, where junior Pete Dolan (Pearl River, N.Y.) battled for the following faceoff that resulted in Lasell's second tally via the Gallant/Sullivan duo. Tomasetti cut the lead in half for the Lasers with 8:20 left in the half, but a 3-0 run from the Saints kept the visitors alive heading into halftime, 8-3.
Lasell controlled possession in the opening minutes of the second half, as Gallant capitalized on rapid fire shooting from the Lasers' to trail by four, 8-4. Six minutes passed until either team found the back of the net, as an extra-man opportunity gave Cibelli, the GNAC player of the week, his tenth goal of the season. Penalty trouble caused the Lasers their next goal, as Curtis finished a feed from Moran for the 10-4 bump with 4:00 left in the third.
Despite Lasell's 13-8 advantage in shots during the final 15 minutes of play, the Saints closed the game with a marker from Moran and Bolduc for the 12-6 final at Grellier Field.
Junior goalkeeper Jorge Salazar (Waltham, Mass.) recorded 14 saves, many of which were point-blank shots, in 50:22 minutes played, while Saints' sophomore Austin Rosenburg (Ronkonkoma, N.Y.) notched the win in net with 16-of-22 shots saved.
Both teams will face GNAC opponents on Saturday, April 9. The Lasers will continue their three-game home stand at 1:00 p.m. with Mount Ida College, while the Saints welcome Norwich University at 3:00 p.m.