NEWTON, Mass. (4/9/16) – The Lasell men's lacrosse team powered to a 9-7 victory over Mount Ida College Saturday afternoon in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) action at Grellier Field. The Lasers improve to 2-1 in the conference and 7-3 overall, while the Mustangs dip to 1-2 in the GNAC and 5-6 this season.
Prior to today's contest, the Lasers honored Lasell College Assistant Professor of Legal Studies, Karin Raye, for her efforts in raising awareness about sexual and domestic violence across campus. Raye, along with the men's lacrosse team, participated in the White Ribbon Campaign as well as the REACH Program to join the fight together against domestic assault, and the men's lacrosse team would like to thank her for all of her hard work and endless time she puts into the community, the institution, and the team.
Junior Anthony Saitta (Derry, N.H.) led the charge for the Lasers with his third hat trick of the season, while senior Casey Sullivan (Quaker Hill, Conn.) and freshman Ryan Madden (Hingham, Mass.) followed with two goals apiece. Juniors Josh Gallant (Hampstead, N.H.) and Connor Johnson (Hampstead, N.H.) added a single tally in the effort, with both goals assisted by senior Pat Egan (Glen Rock, N.J.), who registered four total helpers on the afternoon.
Junior Jon Berry (Chichester, N.H.) scored twice in the deficit for Mount Ida to join Mike Markevich (Westminster, Mass.), Lucas Stralka (East Greenwich, R.I.), Marcus Donahue (Braintree, Mass.) Da'Zhon Johnston (Southampton, Bermuda) and Peter Hardy (Tyngsboro, Mass.) in the Mustangs' attack.
The opening 15 featured three rapid lead changes, as Berry and Madden got off to a hot start 2:44 into the contest. Tomasetti found Sullivan with 5:23 left in the first for the 2-1 bump, but Donahue and Johnston kept the Stangs alive with the 3-2 go-ahead to close the first stanza. The Lasers kept the Mustangs at bay for the entirety of the second period, as Gallant turned a man-down situation into the 3-3 equalizer before Egan found Saitta for the 4-3 go-ahead. Saitta's goal kept the Lasers on top for the remainder of the contest, but the Mustangs wouldn't quit as Berry and Markevich twisted a three-goal gap into a one possession game, 6-5, heading into the final 15 minutes of play.
With 11:23 on the clock, a Lasell penalty awarded Mount Ida the man-up opportunity, where the Stangs gave junior keeper Jorge Salazar (Waltham, Mass.) rapid fire with a final point-blank save from the netminder. As the penalty burned out, Madden took the ball from the clear and deked an Ida defender to net his second of the game, and Lasell's 7-5 insurance goal. The fight yet wasn't over for the opposition, as a Lasers' slashing call set Hardy up for the man-up marker to trail Lasell 8-6 with 6:20 left.
As the clocked ticked down, Saitta escaped a sea of green and netted a top-shelf shot past sophomore goalie Cam Hayward (Derry, N.H.) to bring the gap to three, 9-6. Stralka snuck one in with 2:47 to go, but Salazar and the Lasell defensemen kept the Mustangs out of the net, for the 9-7 conference final.
Salazar (7-2) stopped 12 of 19 shots on frame in between the pipes for the Lasers, while Hayward (5-6) recorded 16 saves in the loss.
Both teams will face GNAC opponents in their next battle on Wednesday, April 13. The Lasers return to Grellier Field for a 4:00 p.m. game time with Saint Joseph's Maine, while the Mustangs host Johnson and Wales for a tilt under the lights at 6:00 p.m.
