MLX: Lasell downs Anna Maria for 12th straight victory

NEWTON, Mass. – Senior Ryan Madden (Hingham, Mass.) recorded a six points, including his 200th career point, Saturday afternoon as Lasell College defeated Anna Maria College, 13-8, in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) men's lacrosse action at Grellier Field.

The Lasers extended their program record winning streak to 12 games, improving to 13-1 overall. They also remained unbeaten in GNAC this spring (7-0) and clinched to top seed in the conference tournament that begins next Saturday, April 27. Upset-minded Anna Maria falls to 5-11 overall and 2-5 in GNAC play.

Madden finished with a game-high five goals and one assist, improving his career totals to 150 goals and 53 assists for 203 points. Sophomore Andrew Fidalgo (Wilbraham, Mass.) tallied a game-high seven points on three goals and four assists, and senior Liam Gillis (Reading, Mass.) and sophomore Colby Buccheri (Rowley, Mass.) added three points each, Gillis with two goals and one assist and Buccheri with a goal and two assists.

The Lasers also got solid contributions from senior David Sheehan (Tewksbury, Mass.), who collected seven caused turnovers and five ground balls, and freshman David Burke (Cohasset, Mass.), who picked up a team-high eight ground balls. Junior Ben Werner (Boxford, Mass.) and freshman Steven Phelps (Stamford, Conn.) combined to win 14-of-24 face-offs.

Junior Brandon Pavoni (Granby, Mass.) led the Amcats with three goals and two assists, and freshman Eric Glover (Baldwinville, Mass.) also scored three times. Senior James Wieliczko (Holderness, N.H.) collected a team-high six ground balls and caused two turnovers.

The visitors came out strong and scored three goals in the first 10 minutes of the game and took a 3-1 lead. Lasell got one back before the end of the first quarter, and tallied the first four of the season quarter, including three goals by Madden in the five-goal stretch. The Amcats tallied two late goals to pull to within 6-5 at halftime.

Anna Maria tied the score at 6- 6 early in the third quarter, but Lasell responded with six of the next seven goals to pull ahead 12-7 five minutes into the fourth quarter. Each team scored one more time the rest of the way.

The Lasers had the advantage in shots (47-25) and ground balls (42-32). Senior Paul Schwarz (Staten Island, N.Y.) had an impressive day in the Amcat goal, making 21 saves on 34 shots to become the all-time saves leader in the country between all division with a total of 1132 saves. Freshman Alex Beauchemin (Westfield, Mass.) made eight saves to earn the win (12-1) for the home team.

Lasell honored its six seniors prior to the game, which included Madden, Sheehan, Gillis, Mike Susi (Gorham, Maine), James Torosian (Lynn, Mass.) and Evan Abatiell (Rutland, Vt.).

Both teams wrap up the regular season with GNAC home games on Tuesday, April 23, as Lasell hosts Johnson & Wales University at 4 p.m. and Anna Maria entertains Albertus Magnus College at 7 p.m.

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