Gallant Propels Men's Lacrosse Past Monks 11-8

NEWTON, Mass. (4/13/16) – Junior Josh Gallant (Hampstead, N.H.) scored four times to lift the Lasell men's lacrosse team over the visiting Monks of St. Joseph's Maine 11-8 in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) action Wednesday evening at Grellier Field.

Senior Casey Sullivan (Quaker Hill, Conn.) and freshman Ryan Madden (Hingham, Mass.) added a pair of goals apiece in the victory, while senior Pat Egan (Glen Rock, N.J.) dished out two assists. Sophomore Austin Tomasetti (Elmsford, N.Y.) and juniors Anthony Saitta (Derry, N.H.) and Connor Johnson (Hampstead, N.H.) rounded out the scoring for the Lasers with a single tally each.

For the Monks, freshman Michael Finn (Quincy, Mass.) and sophomores Cam Boucher (Lewiston, Maine) and Luigi Grimaldi (Portland, Maine) scored twice in the setback.

In an evenly matched first half, the Lasers and Monks deadlocked at four apiece, before the Lasers took the third period for their own. Sullivan took an unassisted rocket to frame 2:05 into the stanza, before Madden capitalized on the double-up opportunity with 8:41 left to go. Boucher snuck one in on the transition for the Monks with 5:09 left in the period, but Gallant responded with his second of the game to preserve a two goal gap 7-5 heading into the final 15.

Johnson extended Lasers' the lead to three 28 seconds into the fourth quarter with a top-shelf blast past the right shoulder of sophomore keeper Connor Trainor (Franklin, Mass.). A Grimaldi goal shrunk the Monks' trail to two points with 3:28 left in regulation, but Gallant turned a man-down situation into his fourth goal of the evening for the 11-8 final decision.

Junior net minder Jorge Salazar (Waltham, Mass.) earned the victory (8-2) in the cage for Lasell with nine saves on 17 shots, while Trainor suffered the loss (5-6) despite a 17 save performance.

Both teams will hit the road in their next contest against GNAC opponents on Saturday, April 16. The Lasers will travel to New Haven, Conn. for a 12:00 p.m. faceoff with Albertus Magnus, while the Monks face Norwich University in the second half of a lacrosse doubleheader at 4:00 p.m.