Lasers' Updates 10/21/2008
LASERS' UPDATES 10/21/08
It was a very busy week for the Lasers, which culminated on Saturday with Family, Friends and Alumni Weekend, during which each of the six Fall sports teams celebrated their Senior Day.
Men's Soccer
Continuing on their winning streak, the men's soccer team picked up two additional victories this week. They started the week with an 11-1 win over non-conference opponent Newbury College, then conquered visiting GNAC adversary Mount Ida College with a 6-0 win on Senior Day.
The Lasers decided the tempo of the Newbury Game from the beginning, dominating the Nighthawks throughout. Seven total athletes on the men's soccer team scored points against Newbury, led by Lasell's Dan Hatch (Avon, MA) who scored four times and chipped in to assists. Zach Gagne (Somerset, MA) followed with two goals, while Robert Gonzalez (Palmdale, CA), Dylan Janosik (Windham, ME), Kyle Cronin (Weymouth, MA), Kyle Hermenegildo (Rehoboth, MA), and Tholemson Francois (Stoughton, MA) each dropped in an addition goal apiece.
The Lasers then faced GNAC rivals Mount Ida College, in an intense and physical game in front of a huge crowd of family, friends and alumni and Taylor Field. Hatch once again started the offense for the Lasers, scoring on an open net in the first fifteen minutes of the matchup. Francois then upped the Lasers edge to two with just minutes left in the first half by drilling a deflected save back into the Mustangs net.
The Lasers did not let down after the half, finishing off the game with four more goals. Gagne scored twice, followed by Hermenegildo, and finally Eric Swahlan (Ballston Spa, NY) who notched the Lasers final goal, finishing the Mustangs off, 6-0.
For his impressive performances this week, Zach Gagne (right) was named GNAC Player of the Week for the second time this season. Not only did Gagne finish the week with four goals and two assists in the two games, but he also became the Lasers leading career point scorer, currently holding 117 total points in his four year career. Gagne currently has 10 goals and 7 assists this season for a total of 27 points. In his career, Gagne has fired in 46 goals and dished off 25 assists.
The Lasers celebrated their three senior athletes during the Mount Ida game as well. Zach Gagne, Jareb Sechrist (Auburn, CA), and Kuol Acuek (Lincoln, MA) each received recognition for their time as men's soccer players at Lasell.
Women's Soccer
Lasell's women's soccer team is on a roll right now, having not lost a game in nearly a month of play. The Lasers had three games this week, winning two and tying one, all in GNAC competition.
At St. Joseph's College, CT, on Monday, the Lasers came back from being down 0-1 until the final three minutes of play. Olivia Tsakiris (Grosvenordale, CT) unleashed a 25 yard shot that sailed into the Blue Jays net to tie the game with 2:27 left on the clock in regulation.
Though St. Joe's came back just 22 seconds later to regain the lead, rookie defender Liz McGeoy (Doylestown, PA) fired a shot from deep in the field which gave the Lasers their second goal of the game, tying the teams at 2-2.
Though the Lasers fought hard in overtime, and double overtime, they did not score again and left West Hartford, CT in deadlock with the Blue Jays. Elizabeth Stickley (Mashpee, MA) came up with 15 saves in net for the Lasers.
Against Rivier College, just two days later, the Lasers controlled the ball the entire game, and played marvelous defense that did not allow the Raiders even one shot attempt in the first half. Jordynn Frollo (Uxbridge, MA), Alaina Mitrano (Medford, MA) and Kaitlyn Fields (Stoneham, MA) produced the backbone of the Lasers defense.
McGeoy struck again for the Lasers, in the 24th minute of the matchup when Frollo sent a beautiful pass to the middle, finding McGeoy in perfect position to score. Later in the game, Frollo sent a through ball to Ashley Lambert (Salem, MA) who scored from the top of the box, putting the game away.
Lasell's senior, captain and goalkeeper, Jamie Remmers (West Islip, NY), came out of the game with four saves and the shutout victory for the Lasers.
In their final contest of the week, the Lasers produced a 3-0 victory over Suffolk University on Senior Day. Lasers' seniors Jamie Remmers and Ashlinn O'Brien (Ware, MA) were honored prior to the game for their dedication to the women's soccer team.
The game started with Frollo sending the ball from midfield to Lasell's Allyson Bushey (Westminster, MA) on a breakaway to score just a minute and a half into the game. Frollo then struck again when she received a pass from Meredith Hessler (Middletown, RI) and fired a shot from 25 yards out.
Lambert continued the Lasers attack in the second half scoring off a crossed ball by Alyssa Ferreri (Southbury, CT) at the 50th minute of play. Remmers once again picked up the shutout in goal for the Lasers, turning away 7 of the Rams shots.
Jamie Remmers (right) was also honored this week as the Goalkeeper of the Week for the GNAC, for the first time this season. Remmers was chosen for her two shutouts against tough GNAC adversaries, and for grabbing 11 saves overall. So far this season, Remmers has 29 saves, and only 3 goals against for a .906 save percentage.
Cross Country
The men's and women's cross country teams competed at the 4th Annual Saints Invitational in Boston, MA this weekend. The meet consisted of 112 women competing on the 5K course, and 85 men running the 8K course at Franklin Park. The Lasell men's team took fourth place, out of ten teams, and the women's team took 7th place out of thirteen teams.
Zachary Lambert (Marlborough, MA) set a new career record at the meet, finishing the 8K race in 25th overall with a time of 29:13.
Grant Vantine (Fitchburg, MA) also ran a new collegiate career personal best on the Franklin Park course this week. Vantine finished the meet at 32:56, taking nearly a minute off his previous career best.
Also competing strongly at the race were Christopher Johnson (Gloucester, MA) and David Walsh (Springfield, MA), each of whom produced their top race time for the Franklin Park course. Johnson finished first out of all the Lasers, in 16th place, with a time of 28:32, and Walsh crossed the finish at 29:09, in the 22nd spot.
The Laser women also competed very well, with Meghan Missett (Lowell, MA) coming in first for the Lasers with a time of 22:27 on the 5K course. Missett finished the race in 34th place, followed shortly afterwards by rookie Amanda Driscoll (Roslindale, MA) in 38th place. Driscoll's race time was 22:40.
The third, fourth, and fifth Lasers to finish the meet were Ariella Harrington (Woburn, MA), Christina Lombardi (Marlborough, MA), and Lauren Darrah (Beverly, MA). Harrington ran a 23:17, finishing in 46th. Lombardi and Darrah completed in times of 23:48 and 23:56 respectively.
The Lasers had 5 seniors that were honored on Saturday during Family, Friends and Alumni Weekend. Chris Johnson, Kayla McKenna (Warwick, RI), Lauren Darrah, Megan Harrison (Guildford, CT), and Danielle Chiarella (Westborough, MA) are the five graduating athletes from the cross country teams.
Women's Volleyball
Women's volleyball went undefeated this week, playing two conference matches and one non-conference.
Lasell played a five set match against Rhode Island College, beating them in dramatic style by only three in the final fifth set. Lasell's Kelsey Schmidt (Ballston Spa, NY) was on fire, putting down a game high 14 kills, swinging a .293 clip on the night.
Meghan Crozier (Ballston Spa, NY) had a double-double on the night, with 27 assists and eighteen digs. Crozier has been playing very strong for the Lasers in the primary setters position.
The Lasers had incredible defense, with five athletes grabbing over double digits in digs. Amanda Major (Southbury, CT) continues her amazing defense as the team's libero, marking her third match this season of 30 plus digs. Major had a team high 35 digs against Rhode Island, and is currently ranked 27th overall in digs per set in DIII NCAA statistics, averaging 5.71. Also producing double digit digs were Crozier, Jenna-Lynn Geary (Marion, MA) and Megan Gobeille (Lincoln, RI), each with 16, and Nicole Wetterman (Dighton, MA) with 18.
The Lasers then hosted a tri-match on Saturday with Albertus Magnus and St. Joseph's College (ME). Lasell swept the match easily, beating each team in three sets.
Lasell opened against the Monks of St. Joe's (ME). They took the match 25-8, 25-13, 25-9. Schmidt dropped another game high 11 kills, with Crozier setting her up for 25 total assists. Major continued to scour the court with 12 digs in the three set match.
The Lasers then handily overtook the Falcons of Albertus Magnus, 25-6, 25-8, and 25-5. Once again Crozier produced an impressive offense, picking up 15 assists in the match, while Schmidt went an impressive 8-11 hitting with only one error, and Major dug up an additional 9 balls for the Lasers. Gobeille went 7-11 in hitting with no errors, marking a .636 hitting percentage for the match.
With these two conference wins, the Lasers upped their record to 4-5 in the GNAC.
Prior to the matches on Saturday, the Lasers celebrated Nicole Wetterman and Kelsey Schmidt, their two senior, captains.
Field Hockey
The Lasers field hockey team went 2-1 this week, which included a huge NAC win over Simmons College.
The first game this week was against Eastern Connecticut State University, and though the Lasers stayed close and even tied the game in the second half, the Warriors pulled out a 3-2 win.
Lasell's Tia Pratt (S. Paris, ME) scored both goals against the Warriors, while Christine Thornton (Canton, MA) picked up five saves in net.
The Lasers then boosted their NAC record to 2-2 after their win over the Simmons Sharks. Caitlyn Walker (Middlebury, CT) scored first for Lasell when Stephanie Jansen (Glen, NH) sent a through ball to Walker, generating a 1-0 lead.
Pratt played another aggressive contest for the Lasers, picking up their second goal with a high shot through Simmons defense and into the Sharks net, giving the Lasers their 2-0 win.
Lasell's defenders and goalkeeper's efforts did not go unnoticed as Thornton picked up three saves in the shutout and Kristin Moran (Bedford, NH) and Sara Jannuzzi (Glen, NH) played tremendous defense. Jannuzzi also came away with her first defensive save of the season.
Saturday marked Senior Day for three field hockey players. Amanda Miller (Fall River, MA), Stephanie Jansen, and Cara Hulse (Danbury, CT) each played in their final regular season home game for the Lasers.
For their final regular season home game, the Lasers took on Daniel Webster College, beating the Eagles 6-2. Miller was the starting goalkeeper for the Lasers, picking up four saves on her senior day.
Walker, who leads the league in goals per game, averaging 1.36,
produced a hat trick for the Lasers, while Jansen and Amy
Lentini (Wilmington, MA) had five and four points
respectively.
Jansen scored at 3:41, fed by Lentini, to give the Lasers a 1-0 advantage. The Lasers then poured in three more goals before the half time break. Lentini threw in her second goal of the season, unassisted, and then Walker scored two back to back goals.
Following the intermission, Walker opened with her third goal, followed by Jansen, once again by Lentini to mark the final points of the game for the Lasers.
Two of Lasell's field hockey players are currently ranked nationally in the NCAA. Walker is currently ranked 11th overall in the NCAA DIII field hockey statistics for goals per game, as well as 14th in points per game. Thornton is ranked 29th in the NCAA for saves per game, averaging 8.89 per game.
Upcoming Games:
Tuesday, October 21st
- - Men's soccer v. UMass Dartmouth @ Taylor Field, 3:30 p.m.
- - Women's soccer @ Emerson College, 6:00 p.m.
Wednesday, October 22nd
- - Women's Volleyball @ Salve Regina, 7:00 p.m.
Thursday, October 23rd
- - Women's soccer @ Lesley University, 8:00 p.m.
Friday, October 24th
- - Women's Volleyball @ Regis College, 7:00 p.m.
Saturday, October 25th
- - Men's Soccer v. Johnson & Wales @ Taylor Field, 2:30 p.m.
- - Women's Soccer v. Wheelock College @ Taylor Field, 12:00 p.m.
- - Field Hockey @ Husson, 6:00 p.m.
Sunday, October 26th
- - Field Hockey @ St. Joseph's (ME), 2:00 p.m.
