Many Reasons to Give Thanks for Fall Sports Success
Newton, Mass (11/22/12) – The arrival of Thanksgiving signals many things for many people, here in LaserNation it means our fall athletic teams have wrapped up their seasons. The fall of 2012 was a particularly good one for the teams at Lasell, providing the campus community with a variety of reasons to be thankful. The women’s soccer team won their third straight Great Northeast Athletic Conference Championship and became the first team in school history to win an opening round game in the NCAA tournament. The men’s soccer program tied a school record for wins, tallying 15 victories, en-route to a regional ranking and an appearance in the New England ECAC Championship. The Lasell women’s field hockey team continued to improve, adding two more victories to their season total than a year ago. The women’s volleyball team continued their run of qualifying for their conference tournament, marking the 13th consecutive season they have qualified, while also finishing .500 or better in league play for the third straight season. The cross country programs also continued trending upward, with the men’s team finishing fifth at the GNAC Championships and the women finishing eighth.
Women’s Soccer – The 2012 Lasell women’s soccer team continued their run of success this year, capping a 15-5-1 campaign by winning their third straight GNAC Championship. Their 2-0 defeat of Simmons earned them their third consecutive automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, where they faced off with Amherst College. After seeing their season end at the hands of a NESCAC opponent each of the last two seasons, the 2012 women’s side made history by becoming the first team ever at Lasell to win an NCAA tournament opening round game. The women opened up a 3-0 lead during the first 70 minutes of action, and held on for a 3-1 win over the Lord Jeffs. Their season ended the following day when they were unable to spring another upset, falling 3-0 to Brandeis University in second round action.
Sophomore Bridget Lynch (Dover, N.H.) was selected by the GNAC coaches as the conference’s Offensive Player of the Year after a season in which she set the single season goals scored mark, tallying 24 goals, while adding six assists. Bridget finished the year ranked ninth nationally in goals, and 11th nationally in total points. Twin sister Kayla Lynch (Dover, N.H.) was also named to the GNAC First team, scoring 14 goals and tallying four assists during the year. Junior center-back Jamie Osterberg (Monroe, Conn.) was selected to the GNAC Second team, notching three assists while helping orchestrate a stingy Laser defense.
Freshmen Molly Masiero (Richmond, Mass.) was chosen to represent Lasell on the GNAC Sportsmanship team in women’s soccer.
Men’s Soccer – The Lasell College men’s soccer team finished the 2012 campaign with a 15-4-1 record overall and a 9-1 record in GNAC play, tying the program record for victories in a single season at 15. The men opened the season winning 14 of their first 15 matches, leading to a #9 regional ranking, the highest in the history of the program. The Lasers dominated play in the GNAC, finishing their conference slate with a lone blemish, a 2-1 defeat at St. Joseph’s College (Me.). After earning the top-seed in the conference tournament the men defeated Mount Ida 1-0 in a quarterfinal match, before being upset by Norwich University by a 2-1 score in the GNAC semifinals. The Lasers were selected for the New England ECAC regional tournament for the third time in the program’s 15 seasons, where they fell to Endicott College on penalty kicks.
The GNAC honored eight members of the men’s soccer program with their post-season awards, headlined by junior tri-captain Mike Skelton (Conway, N.H.) being voted the GNAC Offensive Player of the Year. Skelton scored 14 goals, including five game winning goals, while also handing out three assists. Fellow classmate and tri-captain Nery Guerra (Guatemala City, Guatemala) was also selected to the conference’s first team, after tallying three goals and five assists on the season. Senior center back Adam Luciano was named to the GNAC Second team. Seniors Kyle Cronin (Weymouth, Mass.) and Eric Fournier (Meriden, Conn.) were named to the GNAC Third Team, along with juniors Sokol Bako (Roslindale, Mass.), Cedric Dybaud (Weymouth, Mass.) and freshmen goalkeeper Miguel Colmenares (Caracas, Venezuela).
Lasell had a pair of seniors, Kyle Cronin and Adam Luciano selected to play in the NEISL All-Star game, marking the first time Lasell has had more than one player honored for this event.
Senior Brennen Adams (Southbury, Conn.) was named as the Lasell representative on the GNAC Sportsmanship Team.
Women’s Volleyball – The Lasell College women’s volleyball team qualified for the GNAC postseason tournament for the sixth time in six years, recovering from a difficult non-conference schedule to finish 6-6 in the conference and 7-26 overall. The 2012 Lasers fell to Rivier in the quarterfinals, 3-0, marking the third straight season the Raiders have ended their season. The Lasell squad was comprised of seven freshmen, three sophomores, and four juniors all of whom gained valuable experience against one of the most difficult non-league schedules the women’s volleyball team has taken on. They faced four NCAA tournament teams in their non-league slate, and their opponents went a combined 355-258 during the 2012 season. Freshmen Sharisse Scott-Rawlins (Brockton, Mass.) led the Lasell offense in conference play with 2.41 kills/set, while sophomore Alexis Chappell (Springfield, Mass.) and junior Sara Biondo (Coventry, R.I.) each added 2.05 kills/set. Freshmen setter Alyssa Nahigian (Coventry, R.I.) tallied 6.84 assists/set in GNAC play, the fourth best mark in the conference, and freshmen Jordan Seid (Rowland Heights, Calif.) notched 4.56 digs/set, the third best mark in GNAC conference matches.
Jordan Seid was nominated to represent the Lasers on the GNAC Sportsmanship team for women’s volleyball.
Men’s Cross Country – The men’s cross country team enjoyed one of their most successful campaigns with a team of young and hungry runners. The men finished fifth at the GNAC Championships and followed that up with strong showings at the ECAC Championships and the NCAA Regionals. Several freshmen made contributions to the youthful squad, including Alex Weselcouch (East Haddam, Conn.), who became the first men’s runner to earn All-GNAC honors after placing fifth overall at the league championship meet. Fellow freshmen Cameron Weiwel (Kennebunk, Maine) and David Cooper (Woburn, Mass.) showed excellent growth throughout the season, and sophomore captain Kyle Northrop (Bellingham, Mass.) also had a strong finish to his year. The team is poised to continue their success as their 2012 roster will lose only senior Isaac Montoya (El Paso, Tex.).
The Lasers sophomore captain, Kyle Northrop was selected to the 2012 GNAC Sportsmanship team in men’s cross country.
Women’s Cross Country – The women’s cross country team headed into an uncertain 2012 season having to replace several key departures from their roster a year ago. Junior Solange Carpenter (Gorham, Maine) paced the Lasers as their top runner in all but one meet on the season, including a team best 29th place finish at the GNAC Championships. Freshmen Jamie Russo (Watertown, Mass.) provided a nice boost to the team, routinely finishing as one of the top 3 Lasell runners. The lone senior for the Lasers was Christina Annicelli (North Easton, Mass.), leaving a host of returning runners to push the program forward next fall.
Solange Carpenter was named to the 2012 GNAC Sportsmanship team for women’s cross country.