Lasell Men’s Lacrosse defeats Emmanuel in GNAC quarterfinal

NEWTON, Mass. – Senior Austin Tomasetti (Elmsford, N.Y.) tallied a team-high seven points, including his 100th career assist, as second-seeded Lasell College posted a 15-5 victory over seventh-seeded Emmanuel College Saturday afternoon in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) men's lacrosse quarterfinal game at Grellier Field.

Defending GNAC champion Lasell improved to 9-6 overall with its sixth straight victory and advanced to a GNAC semifinal game on Wednesday, May 2, at 4:00 p.m. against sixth-seeded Johnson & Wales University. The Wildcats advanced with a 14-8 upset victory over third-seeded Mount Ida College. Emmanuel completes its season at 3-13.

Tomasetti notched his 100th assist with 8:13 remaining in the first quarter, connecting with junior Austin Shindoll (Denver, Colo.) on an extra-man opportunity for a 5-0 lead. The senior is tied at 20th in Division III, averaging 2.50 assists per game.

Senior Matt White (Falmouth, Mass.) and juniors Ryan Madden (Hingham, Mass.) and James Torosian (Lynn, Mass.) each contributed two goals apiece in the victory for the Lasers.

The Lasers dominated the first quarter, gathering a 6-0 lead including two man-up scores. Lasell continued to capitalize on extra-man opportunities, going 4-for-6 in the game. The Lasers have 21 extra-man goals on 48 attempts, and sit at 12th in Division III with a .438 man-up percentage.

Emmanuel's Matt Katon (East Falmouth, Mass.) added the first of two on the afternoon minutes into the second quarter, finding the scoring column to cut Lasell's lead to 6-1. Tomasetti and junior Liam Gillis (Reading, Mass.) answered with two goals to give the hosts an 8-1 margin at halftime.

Lasell continued to pad the lead with the first four goals of the third stanza. Freshman Andrew Fidalgo (Wilbraham, Mass.) scored twice midway through the quarter, giving the Lasers a 12-1 lead, their largest of the game. The Saints would add three in the fourth quarter, but were unsuccessful in their comeback efforts

Sophomore Ben Werner (Boxford, Mass.) went a game-high 11-15 at the face-off X, as the Lasers controlled 16-of-24 face-offs.

Sophomore goalie Ryan Janovic (East Lyme, Conn.) stopped eight shots in the victory, while Emmanuel goaltender Austin Rosenberg (Ronkonkoma, N.Y) made 13 saves.

Next Wednesday's semifinal matchup is a rematch of the April 4 regular season game, when Lasell downed Johnson & Wales 13-5 in Providence.

(By Brian McLoughlin, Athletic Communications student assistant)

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