
Newton, Mass.- Lasell College produced a 6-0 shutout victory
over neighboring Mount Ida College Saturday afternoon in the
quarterfinals of the 2009 GNAC men's soccer tournament. The
Mustangs finish the season with a 5-12-0 overall record while the
Lasers will move on and host the semi-finals with a 10-5-2
slate.
Senior goalkeeper Julian Dutton (Madison, Conn.)
earned the shutout making fives saves in the process for the
Lasers. Lasell dictated the tempo of the contest from the
beginning, controlling the ball for the majority of the
minutes. The Lasers shot 25 times, 16 of which were on goal,
while the Mustangs came away with 17 chances, just five on
target.
Mount Ida had the first athlete to generate a close-call when Will
Daniels (Bethany, Conn.) beat Dutton in a breakaway opportunity at
7:12, but his shot went wide of the net.
Lasell made their move at 12:10 when Kyle Cronin
(Weymouth, Mass.) made a key pass from within the six to the top of
the penalty box where Mike Skelton (Conway, NH)
was waiting. Skelton let loose a rocket that soared over
Steven Enright's (South Kingston, RI) head in the goal.
At 19:32, Skelton sent a beautiful leading pass from the midfield
which hit Shane Vinnicombe (Pomfret Center, Conn.)
perfectly as he streaked down the right field. Vinnicombe
drilled the shot from the right wing from nine yards out.
Just over one minute later the Lasers struck a third time.
Robby Gonzalez (Palmdale, Cali.) carried the ball
down the left-hand side of the field, drawing the defenders in to
challenge him. Just as Mount Ida was about to attack the
ball, Gonzalez dished a short pass to trailing Tholemson
Francois (Stoneham, Mass.) who put Lasell up 3-0.
Dan Hatch (Avon, Mass.) launched a distance shot
from 25 yards out, giving Lasell a 4-0 lead in the 39th
minute. The play began with Eric Fournier
(Meriden, Conn.) driving down the middle of the field and
challenging Enright one-on-one. The deflection off Enright
bounced directly to Hatch who fired in the shot while the keeper
was still out of net.
Before the teams broke for intermission, Evan
Gaccione (Westerly, RI) gave Lasell a final goal for the
first half. Jonathan Klippert
(Cumberland, ME) sent a cross pass from the right corner to
Gaccione who slipped in the fifth Lasell goal of the day.
After nine minutes passed in the second period, Lasell pushed
further ahead as Dylan Janosik (Windham, ME)
scored his first goal of the season. The sophomore midfielder
drove down field to pick up a long pass directed by Gaccione from
the Lasers' backfield. Janosik challenged the Mustangs'
alternate goalkeeper Andrew Clark (Greenville, NY) with a
fifty-fifty ball, defeating Mount Ida's last line of defense for
the 6-0 lead.
Clark turned away seven shots in Mount Ida's net during the second
half. Daniels was the Mustangs' primary attacker, taking
eight total shots, three of which were on goal.
The Lasers will now face the victors of the Suffolk vs. Emerson
contest in the semi-finals on Tuesday, November 3rd at 1:00 p.m.