NEWTON, Mass. – Junior Vanessa Pino (Methuen, Mass.) and senior Taylor Yandow (Moretown, Vt.) combined for 11 goals and three assists Tuesday afternoon as Lasell College held off Gordon College, 20-15, in a non-conference women's lacrosse game at chilly Grellier Field.

Lasell led 15-7 at halftime and scored the first four goals of the second half to open up a double-digit lead. Gordon battled back with seven unanswered goals and outscored the home team 8-1 over the final 16 minutes but could not complete the comeback. The Lasers held on to improve to 2-0 on the season, while Gordon drops to 2-2.

Pino tallied six goals and two assists to match her career highs in goals and points, while Yandow added five goals, one assist and a team-high eight draw controls. Lasell again had a balanced offensive attack as junior Jordan McComb (Cumberland, R.I.) and freshman Kellie Matthews (Walpole, Mass.) tallied three goals and one assist each and sophomore Sam Taylor (Hanover, Mass.) also scored three times.

Sophomore Morgan Choquet (Woonsocket, R.I.) had a solid day in the Laser net, making 13 saves.

Junior Olivia McCarrick (Glen Burnie, Md.) had a big game for the Fighting Scots with six goals, two assists, nine draw controls and four ground balls. Classmate Paige Thompson (West Chester, Pa.) tallied four goals and two assists and freshman Katelyn Dyer (Plainfield, N.J.) contributed three goals, two assists and seven draw controls.

Lasell jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the first eight minutes, thanks to one goal each by Yandow, Taylor and McComb and two by Matthews. Gordon came back with four consecutive scores, including two by Thompson, to tie the score at 5-5. The Lasers answered with a streak of their own, putting up six goals in a five-minute span, including three from Pino, and then outscored the visitors 4-2 in the last 10 minutes of the half, including three from Yandow, to take a 15-7 lead at the break.

Pino scored three goals in a row for Lasell to open the second half, and Taylor scored another to push the Laser lead to 19-7 with 22 minutes remaining. Gordon came alive with the seven-goal spurt, including four by McCarrick and two by Dyer, to shave the margin to 19-14 with four minutes remaining. Matthews scored one more goal for Lasell, and Thompson tacked on one in the final minute for Gordon for the 20-15 final.

Lasell will be back in action next Thursday, March 15, with its first road game of the season, a 4:00 p.m. match-up at Roger Williams University. Gordon travels to Smith College for non-conference play this Saturday, March 10 at 1 p.m.

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