NEWTON, Mass. – The Lasell College men's lacrosse team used a balanced scoring attack and overcame rainy conditions Wednesday afternoon to pull out a 12-8 Senior Day victory over Emmanuel College in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) regular season finale at soggy Grellier Field.
The Lasers complete the regular season with an 8-6 overall record and an 8-1 mark in conference play, while the Saints wind up at 3-12 overall and 3-6 in the GNAC. The teams will meet again on Saturday at Grellier Field in a GNAC Tournament quarterfinal matchup as second-seeded Lasell hosts seventh-seeded Emmanuel. Lasell enters the tournament as the defending champion.
Junior James Torosian (Lynn, Mass.) led the Lasers with three goals, while senior Austin Tomasetti (Elmsford, N.Y.) and juniors Ryan Madden (Hingham, Mass.) and Mike Susi (Gorham, Maine) added two goals apiece. Senior Alex McCormack-Kuhman (Wells, Maine) contributed a goal and two assists, and junior Austin Shindoll (Denver, Colo.) collected three assists.
Sophomore Alex Flanagan (Westford, Mass.) led the Saints with three goals, while senior Charlie Moran (Maitland, Fla.) scored two and freshman Charles Stutzenberger (Plymouth, Mass.) added a goal and assist. Senior Michael Sousa (Cranston, R.I.) was a menace at the mid-field X, winning 22 of 23 face-offs and grabbing 18 ground balls.
Susi and McCormack-Kuhman gave the Lasers a 2-0 lead in the first quarter, but Flanagan and Stutzenberger answered for the Saints to tie the score at the end of one frame. Tomasetti put the Lasers back in front with the first goal of the second quarter, but junior Matt Katon (East Falmouth, Mass.) and Flanagan tallied the next two goals to give Emmanuel a 4-3 advantage midway through the second. Lasell came back with three unanswered scores by senior Matt White (Falmouth, Mass.), Madden and Tomasetti to close out the half with a 6-4 lead.
The teams traded goals in the third period as rain continued to come down, and Torosian scored two in a row to put the home team ahead 9-6 after three. Madden scored a man-up goal in the first minute of the fourth quarter as Lasell extended its lead to four goals (10-6). The teams traded two goals each the rest of the way and the Lasers held ground for the four-goal victory.
Total shots were even at 32 apiece. Emmanuel goalie Austin Rosenberg (Ronkonkoma, N.Y.) made 11 saves, while sophomore Ryan Janovic (East Lyme, Conn.) and junior Andrew Modugno (Medford, Mass.) split time in the Laser net, Janovic making four saves in the first half and Modugno five in the second half.
Prior to the game, Lasell honored its five graduating seniors -- Tomasetti, McCormack-Kuhman, White, Greg Klaum (Floral Park, N.Y.) and Travis Duhamel (Deerfield, N.H.)
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