GNAC: Lasell Lacrosse receives weekly conference honors amid playoff time

NEWTON, Mass. – The Lasell University men's and women's lacrosse teams were on the receiving end of weekly honors from the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Monday after another outstanding week for the Lasers.

Juniors Bash Cunningham (Norwalk, Conn.) and Alex Beauchemin (Westfield, Mass.) were named GNAC Men's Lacrosse Player and Goalie of the Week, respectively, and graduate student Jordan McComb (Narragansett, R.I./Mount St. Charles Academy) repeated as GNAC Women's Lacrosse Player of the Week, the fifth time in six weeks this spring and seventh time in her career that McComb has been recognized with the GNAC's top weekly honor.

The Laser women (6-1) will host Johnson & Wales University in a GNAC quarterfinal game this Wednesday, April 28, at 4 p.m. at Grellier Field, and the Laser men (8-2) will host an opponent to be determined in a GNAC quarterfinal game this Saturday, May 1, at 1 p.m. at Grellier Field.

A junior attackman, Cunningham scored a team-high eight goals with one assist in a 2-0 week for Lasell as the Laser men clinched the GNAC regular season title with a perfect conference record (6-0). He scored three goals Tuesday in a 15-5 victory over Norwich University, and tallied a career-high five goals and one assist Saturday in a 19-8 triumph over Rivier University.

Cunningham is now fourth on the team and ninth in the GNAC with 22 goals this spring, and fifth on the squad with 24 points.

A junior goalie, Beauchemin posted a 2-0 record with 32 saves, a .711 save percentage and a 6.50 goals against average for the Lasers. He made a career-high 17 saves on 22 shots Tuesday in Lasell's 15-5 GNAC triumph over Norwich, and tallied 15 saves on 23 shots Saturday in the 19-8 triumph over Rivier. His decision on Saturday was his 24th career victory, breaking the Lasell record for career wins.

Beauchemin leads the GNAC this spring with eight victories and ranks second in goals against average (8.81) and save percentage (.603). He also ranks 23rd nationally in Division III in save percentage.

A three-time All-GNAC midfielder, McComb helped lead Lasell to a GNAC quarterfinal victory over Norwich University on Saturday in Lasell's only official game. She tallied a game-high nine points on six goals and three assists along with seven ground balls, six draw controls, and a school-record tying nine caused turnovers. By herself she outscored Norwich 5-1 in the last 18 minutes of the first half, turning a 3-2 Cadet lead into a 7-4 Laser advantage at the intermission, a lead they never relinquished.

McComb leads the GNAC this spring with 45 goals and 71 points and ranks second with 26 assists. She also tops the conference with 53 draw controls, 38 ground balls and 23 caused turnovers. The Laser standout has also made an impact on the national level, ranking among the NCAA Division III leaders in per game categories. McComb leads the nation in goals (6.43) and points per game (10.14) and ranks sixth in assists (3.71), 11th in ground balls game (5.43), 12th in caused turnovers (3.29) and 13th in draw controls (7.57) per game.

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