Lasers' Updates 09/16/2008
A Winning Week for the Lasers
It's been an exciting week for the Lasers' Athletic Teams. All of the teams took home wins, and two Laser athletes were honored with weekly awards for their efforts on the fields.
Men's Soccer
This week the Lasell College Men's Soccer team picked up their first win of the season against Great Northeast Athletic Conference rival, St. Joseph's College (ME), in a 1-0 victory. The GNAC has selected first year Kyle Cronin as their Rookie of the Week for securing that victory by scoring the game winning shot in the 51st minute of the contest.
Cronin, a 5'9" forward from Weymouth, Massachusetts, has played in all of Lasell's games so far this season. He has attempted 4 shots, and has collected two points for his goal against St. Joseph's.
Cronin was assisted on the game winning goal by Paul Meucci (Vernon, CT), a junior defender. Lasell's Julian Dutton (Madison, CT) recorded five saves in the shut out.
Earlier in the week, the Lasers took on Rhode Island College, and lost 0-3. The Lasers did find opportunities to score, predominantly in the second half, as they outshot Rhode Island 14-7. Senior, midfielder, Joseph Acuek (Lincoln, MA) recorded 6 shots, and 2 shots on goal for the Lasers, while teammates Dan Hatch (Avon, MA), Meucci, and Robert Gonzalez (Palmdale, CA) each attempted 2 shots apiece. Unfortunately, the Lasers could not connect with the net. Dutton recorded 6 saves in that loss.
The men's soccer team is now 1-3 overall this season, and 1-0 in the GNAC.
Women's Soccer
After a 0-1 loss against fellow GNAC competitors St. Joseph's (ME) on Saturday, the Lasers' women's soccer team brought home a 3-0 win against New England College, on Monday.
From the start of the game against NEC, the Lasers controlled the ball, finding a 12 shot advantage over the Pilgrims in the first half. Lasell's defense, anchored by Jordynn Frollo (Uxbridge, MA) and Olivia Tsakiris (Grosvenordale, CT), was strong, clearing the ball from the Lasers' half of the field, and creating opportunities for the offense.
First year Meredith Hessler (Middletown, RI) made herself a presence on the field for the Lasers, both offensively and defensively. Hessler opened the game for Lasell with the a long shot from the middle of the field, making the game 1-0, just one minute and thirteen seconds into the game. Providing 3 more points for the Lasers was freshman Jessica Taylor (Standish, ME) who assisted Hessler, then scored the final goal of the game later in the half.
Finishing off the scoring for the Lasers was Alexi Giatrelis (Mashpee, MA), who scored off a pass from Alyssa Ferreri (Southbury, CT), just over the ten minute mark.
Lasell's goalkeeper Elizabeth Stickley (Scituate, MA) earned the shutout, with 5 total saves in the game.
Stickley also produced 12 saves in the 0-1 loss to St. Joseph's this weekend. Ferreri, Hessler, and Taylor each came up with shots for the Lasers against the Monks. The Lasers are now 1-2 this season.
Men's & Women's Cross Country
The Men's & Women's Cross Country team traveled to Smith College in Northampton, MA this past Saturday to compete in the Smith Invitational. On the women's side, seventeen teams competed, and for the men there were thirteen teams.
Both of the Lasers top finishers finished in the 48th spot overall. Chris Johnson (Gloucester, MA) and Kayla McKenna (Warwick, RI) led for Lasell with times of 18:51 and 23:11 respectively. Both Johnson and McKenna were top finishers in the previous meet for the Lasers also.
Meghan Missett (Lowell, MA) came in with second for the Lasers, taking nearly a minute off her finishing time from the previous race. Missett came in 71st overall, with a time of 24:16. Christina Lombardi (Marlborough, MA) was the third Lasers to cross the finish line, running a 25:50, and placing at 101.
Zach Lambert (Marlborough, MA) and David Walsh (Springfield, MA) placed 66th and 79th for the men's team with run times of 19:27 and 19:44.
Overall, the women's team came in 11th, and the men's team placed 10th.
Women's Volleyball
Home court proved to be good luck for the Lasers women's volleyball team, as they opened with a 3-0 win over Lesley University on Wednesday. The Lasers swept the Lynx in impressive fashion, 25-22, 25-17, 25-6.
Freshman Danielle Drapeau (Biddeford, ME) continued her strong play for the Lasers, picking up 7 kills, 2 aces, and 3 total blocks. Fellow first year, Jenna-Lynn Geary (Marion, MA) also had a big night, collecting 3 kills, 2 aces, 15 digs, and 1 block. Sharing time at the setter position, Kayla Binette (Biddeford, ME) and Meghan Crozier (Ballston Spa, NY) produced 13 assists combined.
The Lasers then traveled to Plymouth, NH for the Days Inn of Campton Invitational where they played 4 matches over two days.
The Lasers opened up Friday night, playing the hosting Panthers. Although they played tough overall and saw good performances by Drapeau and Amanda Major (Southbury, CT), they lost in three sets, 25-11, 25-17, 25-12.
Drapeau posted 5 kills, 2 aces, and 1 solo block in the defeat, while Major collected 11 digs.
Saturday started with a win for the Lasers as they took on the Nighthawks of Newbury College. The Lasers dominated, winning in three sets 25-10, 25-21, and 25-12. Nicole Wetterman (Dighton, MA) was a force in the middle with 5 kills, while also picking up 2 service aces. Drapeau chipped in an additional 4 kills, and Major produced another 11 digs.
In the semi-finals against UMass Boston, the Lasers gave the Beacons an exciting and close match. Though Lasell lost in three, they didn't let up for a moment, and did not lose a set by more than 4 points. Melanie Costa (Ludlow, MA) played particularly well for the Lasers with 11 digs. Senior, captain Kelsey Schmidt (Ballston Spa, NY) and Geary also each had 6 kills apiece, with Geary adding 3 assists and 5 digs in the match.
In the final match, the Lasers challenged Plymouth State once again. Though Costa picked up 7 digs, and dropped in two service aces, and Drapeau compiled 5 kills and 3 solo blocks in the match, the Panthers took the victory, 25-13, 25-13, 25-23.
Costa (left) was chosen to the All-Tournament team for her efforts in the four match weekend.
The Lasers finished the weekend 1-3, and currently are 2-6 overall.
Field Hockey
Caitlyn Walker (Middlebury, CT) came up with 11 points this week for the women's field hockey team, starting with a thrilling win over MIT. Walker started the week with a hat trick against the Engineers to give Lasell their first win of the season, 4-1. Then on Thursday, in action against Wheelock College, Walker had another huge day, coming up with 3 assists and an additional goal.
Goal keeper Amanda Miller (Fall River, MA) got her first win of the season by coming up with 12 saves in the game versus MIT. Senior, defender Cara Hulse (Danbury, CT) also recorded one defensive save for the Lasers.
Justine McComb (Bloomfield, CT) and Tia Pratt (S. Paris, ME) each earned assists off a goal by Walker, and Stephanie Jansen (Glen, NH) takes credit for the final goal for Lasell, unassisted.
Meagan DeAndrade (New Bedford, MA) was unstoppable for the Lasers against Wheelock College, collecting 11 points in that game alone by scoring 5 goals and assisting on another. The Lasers improved their record to 2-1 after this game which they won, 7-3.
Hannah Cebry, a 5'5" freshman, forward from Burlington, CT, scored her first collegiate goal against Wheelock, and was honored this week by the North Atlantic Conference (NAC) as the Rookie of the Week.
Cebry (right) also scored the lone goal for the Laser against Wheaton College during their final game of the week, which ended in a 6-1 loss. Cebry accumulated 4 points, scoring two goals in a 2-1 week for the Lasers.
Upcoming Events:
Men's Soccer:
Wednesday, Sept. 17th, 4:00 p.m., v. Clark University @ Taylor Field.
Saturday, Sept. 20th, 1:00 p.m., v. Rivier* @ Taylor Field.
Women's Soccer:
Wednesday, Sept. 17th, 3:30 p.m., @ Norwich University*.
Saturday, Sept. 20th, 1:00 p.m., @ Simmons*.
Men's & Women's Cross Country:
Friday, Sept. 26th, @ Rivier College.
Women's Volleyball:
Thursday, Sept. 18th, 7:00 p.m., @ Westfield State College.
Saturday, Sept. 20th, 12:00 p.m., v. St. Joseph's (CT)* @ the Athletic Center.
Field Hockey:
Wednesday, Sept. 17th, 4:00 p.m., v. Plymouth State University @ Grellier Field.
Saturday, Sept. 20th, 2:00 p.m., @ Castleton State.
Monday, Sept. 22nd, 4:00 p.m., v. Regis College @ Grellier Field.