NEWTON, Mass. – The Lasell College trio of senior Taylor Yandow (Moretown, Vt.) and juniors Jordan McComb (Cumberland, R.I.) and Vanessa Pino (Methuen, Mass.) combined for 13 goals and six assists Tuesday afternoon as the second-seeded Lasers upended third-seeded Mount Ida College, 17-8, in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference Women's Lacrosse Tournament Semifinal at Grellier Field.
The Lasers (14-3) won their ninth game in a row and avenged their last loss, a 15-10 setback at Mount Ida on the last day of March. Lasell advances to the GNAC Championship game for the first time since winning the title over Johnson & Wales University in 2016. Mount Ida's season comes to an end with a 12-5 overall record.
Lasell will travel to top-seeded Johnson & Wales University for the championship game this Saturday, May 5. The Wildcats advanced with a 19-4 semifinal victory Tuesday over fourth-seeded Regis. The title game is a rematch of the March 27 meeting, won by host JWU, 18-7.
McComb finished with a game-high six goals and one assist, Yandow added five goals and nine draw controls, and Pino contributed two goals and five assists to power the Lasers to the victory. Freshman Kellie Matthews (Walpole, Mass.) also tallied two goals and eight draw controls in the win.
Sophomore Morgan Choquet (Woonsocket, R.I.) led an impressive defensive effort for the Lasers, making 17 saves on 25 shots. Senior defender Taylor Falco (Hazlet, N.J.) picked up a team-high five ground balls
Juniors Alyssa Kelly (Lee, Mass.) and Brooke Scahill (Gales Ferry, Conn.) posted two goals and one assist apiece for the Mustangs, and freshman Jordyn Ringuette (Colchester, Conn.) also scored a pair. Kelly also posted a strong all-around game with team-highs of four ground ball, four draw controls and three caused turnovers.
After Pino set up McComb with the first goal of the game for Lasell, Mount Ida went on a rally with four of the next five goals over the next five minutes, taking a 4-2 lead with 22 minutes to go in the first half. The rest of the half belonged to the Lasers as the hosts out-scored the visitors 7-0 to take a 9-4 advantage into the break. Yandow, McComb and Matthews all scored twice in the surge, including Yandow's third of the half with less than three second left on the clock.
Mount Ida came alive to start the second half, scoring the first two goals to cut the margin to 9-6, but Lasell did not relent and rattled off five in a row to push the lead up to 14-6 with 11 minutes remaining. The Mustangs tried one last comeback with back-to-back-goals, but Lasell tacked on three more in the final nine minutes to preserve the victory.
Lasell had the advantage in shots (37-34), draw controls (18-9) and ground balls (22-19). Mount Ida goalie Eleanor Garvey (Eldridge, Md.) gave a valiant effort, making 12 saves, but took the loss.
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