NEWTON, Mass. – Saint Joseph's College (7-6, 5-2 GNAC) nearly erased a nine-goal second-half deficit, but Lasell University (7-6, 6-3 GNAC) held off the late rally for a 12-10 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) men's lacrosse victory at Grellier Field on Wednesday evening.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Lasell struck first with a pair of goals in the opening six minutes before freshman Aidan Byrne (West Newbury, Mass.) got the Monks on the board with 3:44 left in the first quarter. The Lasers answered less than a minute later, but sophomore Cody Southwick (Saco, Maine) scored with eight seconds remaining in the period to make it a 3-2 contest heading into the second.
The hosts seized control in the second quarter, scoring six unanswered goals to take a 9-2 lead into halftime. Julian Vogel netted a pair of goals in the spurt and Colin LeBaron added two more as Lasell capitalized on faceoff wins and extra possessions.
Lasell pushed the margin to 10-2 early in the third quarter, but Saint Joseph's responded with four man-up goals to in the penultimate period to get back in the game. Junior Joseph Kiedaisch (Westminster, Mass.) started the run with a tally off an assist from senior Kevin Wood (Danvers, Mass.), junior Brandon Cavicchi (Kingston, Mass.) followed with an extra-man marker, junior Andre Pelletier (East Barre, Vt.) added another, and Kiedaisch scored again with 1:29 left in the frame to trim the deficit to 11-6.
After Lasell scored early in the fourth to go back up by six, the Monks made one final push. Cavicchi scored with 10:51 to play, junior Nicolas Michaud (Wales, Maine) scored at the 6:26 mark, and sophomore Maxwell Plunske (South Windsor, Conn.) found the net 41 seconds later to bring Saint Joseph's within 12-9. Michaud added another with 3:18 remaining to cut the deficit to two, but the Monks could get no closer.
STATS OF THE GAME:
Saint Joseph's controlled much of the second half and finished with advantages in shots (45-37) and extra-man goals, converting 4-of-7 chances. Lasell's early 9-2 halftime lead and a 15-10 lead in faceoff wins ultimately proved to be the differences.
THE KEEPERS:
Junior Reed Wescott (Windham, Maine) made 13 saves for the Monks.
Dominick Ciarelli turned aside 15 shots in the win for Lasell.
LEADERS – SAINT JOSEPH'S:
LEADERS – LASELL:
- Julian Vogel – 4 goals
- Colin LeBaron – 3 goals, 2 assists
- Jason Martin – 3 assists
- Jack Condon – 1 goal, 1 assist
- Matthew Carbone – 15-of-24 faceoffs, 10 ground balls
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:
With the setback, Saint Joseph's falls to 1-11 all-time against Lasell.
NEXT!
The Monks return to action on Saturday when they visit Norwich University for a 1:00 PM conference contest.
