Cronin Seals Lasell's 2-1 Decision over Saints

Boston, MA – The Lasell College men's soccer team picked up a 2-1 decision over Emmanuel College on Saturday afternoon at Roberto Clemente Field. Kyle Cronin (Weymouth, MA) scored the deciding goal in the second half as Lasell improved to 5-5-1 overall, and 4-0-1 in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference. 

Emmanuel and Lasell traded possessions to start the match, matching up fairly evenly in the early going before the Lasers took control, outshooting the hosts 10-4 in the frame.  The Saints tested Lasell's goalkeeper Matthew Bruninghaus (Plymouth, MA) in the preliminary stages of the contest, with two long-range efforts by Kevin Shirley (Madison, CT), but Bruninghaus was up to the task on both attempts even while facing the harsh setting sun. 

Lasell eventually broke ground in the 24th minute when a bounding ball found the back of the Saints net after a series of strikes.  In the end, it was sophomore Adam Luciano (Fairfield, CT) who footed the goal amongst the furor.  Luciano's goal would stand as the solitary mark of the half. 

Heading into the second period, Cronin struck quickly to increase the Lasers' lead, and ultimately seal the GNAC contest.  Freshman Marcus Lopez (Barrigada, Guam) set up Cronin when he blasted a shot which bounced off the crossbar and back into play. Cronin recovered the shot and converted on his follow-up attempt.

The Saints put forth a strong front to equalize the score beginning when sophomore Andres Rocha (West Orange, NJ) flicked in a shot in the 62nd minute off a pass from Shirley.  In the closing moments of the game, the Saints set up one final long shot by freshman Allan Parrelli (Reading, MA) but the ball floated just over the top of the crossbar and out of play as the game ended.

Saints' keeper, junior Wilhelm Du Bois (Key Biscayne, Fla.) made nine saves in net for the hosts while junior Matt Bruninghaus (Plymouth, Mass.) tallied five stops for the Lasers en route to the victory. Lasell outshot Emmanuel, 15-10 over the course of the contest.

The Lasers return home for another GNAC tussle on Monday, October 11th at 4:00 p.m. on Taylor Field.