Lasell Women's Lacrosse nips Emerson at the wire

BOSTON, Mass. – Sophomore Amanda DiLeonardo (West Haven, Conn.) scored her first goal of the season on a free position shot with two seconds remaining in regulation play Saturday afternoon to lift Lasell College to a dramatic 15-14 victory over Emerson College in non-conference women's lacrosse action at Rotch Field.

The game-winning goal capped an exciting finish over the last nine minutes, when neither team led by more than one goal. The score was tied at 11-11 with eight minutes to go when Emerson pulled ahead by one, but Lasell scored back-to-back goals to regain the lead, 13-12. Emerson tied it up again with three minutes on the clock before Lasell scored with 57 seconds remaining to regain the lead, 14-13.

The Lions evened the score yet again with 37 seconds to go, but DiLeonardo controlled the draw for Lasell to give the Lasers possession, and then scored the game-winner with 0:02 remaining. With the win, the Lasers improve to 3-1 on the season while Emerson drops to 0-4.

Senior Taylor Yandow (Moretown, Vt.) and junior Jordan McComb (Cumberland, R.I.) scored a team-high five goals to lead the Lasell attack. Yandow also posted one assist and caused a team-high four turnovers and McComb collected a team-high six draw controls and three ground balls. Junior Vanessa Pino (Methuen, Mass.) chipped in with two goals.

Senior Tara Windsor (Palm City, Fla.) and junior Emily Quinn (Dartmouth, Mass.) tallied five goals apiece for Emerson, and sophomore Jenna Tomsky (Clinton, N.J.) added three goals and one assist. Sophomore Sophia Gripari (London, England) contributed one goal and a game-high five assists along with eight draw controls.

Sophomore goalie Morgan Choquet (Woonsocket, R.I.) earned the victory in the Lasell net, making six saves, while senior Kristina Modica (East Moriches, N.Y.) made 11 saves between the pipes for Emerson.

The first half was very close as well, with five lead changes and Emerson scoring the final two goals to take a 7-6 advantage into the break. After Lasell tied it up early in the second half, the Lions twice took a two-goal lead before the Lasers battled back to set up the dramatic finish.

Lasell plays its next two games at home, Tuesday, March 20, in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) opener against Rivier University at 4:00 p.m. and Thursday, March 22, in a non-conference affair vs. Nichols College (3:30 p.m.) Emerson is home again next Saturday, March 24, against Keene State College (6:00 p.m.)

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