NEWTON, Mass. (10/17/15) – The Lasell College men's soccer team fell to Anna Maria College 2-1 in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) action Saturday afternoon at Taylor Field. The setback puts the Lasers at 2-10 overall and 2-5 in the conference, while the AMCATS rise to 3-9-1 this season and 2-5 in conference play.

Senior Nick Liquori (Westfield, Mass.) netted his first goal of the season for the Lasers, while junior Christopher Mattioli (Sturbridge, Mass.) finished both goals on the day for the AMCATS.

Anna Maria applied immediate high pressure on the Lasers' defense, as Mattioli took a long shot from outside the 18-yard-box to find the far-post netting just 51 seconds into the contest.

The Lasers responded in the 15^4th minute as senior Jonathan Hislop (Toronto, Ontario) chucked the ball in from an out of bounds play to find the top of Liquori's head for the equalizer goal. Liquori would find the back of the net in a similar fashion in the 26^th minute via a cross from freshman Connor Wall (East Hampton, Mass.), but the goal was ruled null and void after a hand ball in the box.

The AMCATS continued to flood the Lasers' defensive zone in the opening plays of second half, as Mattioli took a crack on net that was tipped by senior Miguel Colmenares (Caracas, Venezuela). In the 69^th minute, freshman Ray O'Flaherty (Westwood, Mass.) lined up for a corner kick to put Anna Maria in scoring position. An initial clear from the Lasers would keep the hosts out of trouble for the time being, however Mattioli snagged the rebound and buried a shot into the back of the net to secure the 2-1 victory.

Lasell held a slim advantage in shots, 23-18 and took six corner kicks compared to the visitors' four.

Colmenares registered six saves in the effort for Lasell, while sophomore Patrick Thornberg (Wayland, Mass.) recorded his second win of the season with eight saves in the victory.

Prior to today's contest, the Lasell College community honored its ten graduating seniors for their contributions to the men's soccer program. Liquori, Colmenares, and Hislop, along with teammates Conor Fitzgerald (Marshfield, Mass.), Yaw Bediako (Silver Spring, Md.), Bryan Biondi (Seymour, Conn.), Nick Rudovic (Yonkers, N.Y.), Taylor Witherbee (East Bridgewater, Mass.), Tyler Davis (Palmer, Mass.) and manager Reid Clark, have presented leadership on and off the soccer field, and we wish them well in their future endeavors.

Both teams return to conference action on Wednesday, October 21. The Lasers will host the Monks of Saint Joseph's College (Maine) for kickoff slated for 3:30 p.m. while the AMCATS travel to Providence, R.I. to take on the Wildcats of Johnson and Wales at 4:00 p.m.