SAINTS ACHIEVE THREEPEAT, WIN GNAC TITLE GAME 14-13

Boston, Mass. - The Emmanuel College men's lacrosse program won its third consecutive Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) championship with a thrilling 14-13 victory over Lasell College at Clemente Field on Sunday. 

The Saints have now won 33 straight GNAC contests (regular season and playoffs) and earned the GNAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. 

EC junior Donnie Litzelman (Stratham, N.H.) started things off for the Saints, scoring the game's first goal three minutes into the opening quarter. 

After sophomore Austin Tomasetti (Elmsford, N.Y.) answered quickly for Lasell, the teams traded a pair of goals each, to set up a 3-3 tie with 4:35 remaining the quarter. Freshman Sam Ward (Hampstead, N.H.) and junior Tony Cibelli (Westboro, Mass.) scored for the Saints, while junior Connor Johnson (Hampstead, N.H.) and freshman Ryan Madden (Hingham, Mass.) had the markers for the Lasers.

Madden's second and third goals of the afternoon bookended a 5-0 run for Lasell that stretched from the 4:14 mark of the first quarter to the 12:37 mark of the second. Junior Josh Gallant (Hampstead, N.H.), senior Mike Pino (Tewsbury, Mass.) and senior Casey Sullivan (Quaker Hill, Conn.) all scored tallied unassisted markers between Madden's scores. 

Trailing 8-3, the top-seeded Saints looked to their leaders to find a response, and tournament MVP and senior captain Chris Curtis (Ashland, Mass.) was up to the task. After Litzelman set up senior Michael Donovan (Assonet, Mass.) to cut the lead to 8-4, Curtis scored four goals in two minutes and 44 seconds in a 6-0 run that gave the Saints a 9-8 lead. Sophomore Charlie Moran (Maitland, Fla.) picked up a goal in the run as well. 

Madden and Litzelman traded tallies for their respective clubs in the waning minutes of the quarter and Emmanuel took a 10-9 lead into halftime.

The Lasers wasted no time in evening things up, as Gallant scored 28 seconds into the third quarter to knot it at 10-10.

The defending champs bared down took another shot at the visitors, rattling off a four-goal flurry over the next nine minutes to open up a 14-10 lead with 4:45 left in the quarter. Litzelman and Curtis each picked up another goal apiece in the run, while Cibelli earned two.

Madden and the Lasers threw everything back at the Saints, as the freshman scored twice before the end of the third to pull Lasell within two. 

Senior Pat Egan (Glen Rock, N.J.) scored 61 seconds into the final frame to make it a 14-13 game, but the Saints held off the final push from Lasell and no one scored for the last 13:59 of regulation. 

Sophomore goalkeeper Austin Rosenberg (Ronkokoma, N.Y.) made 14 saves en route to his tenth win of the season (10-3). Senior Chris Thomas-Ikier (Burlington, Mass.) made 15 saves in the losing effort, finishing the season with a 3-2 record.

Curtis (5G, 1A) and Litzelman (3G, 3A) led the way offensively for the Saints, while sophomore Michael Sousa (Cranston, R.I.) was tremendous in the faceoff circle, going 23-30 on the day, including 10-0 in the second quarter.

Cibelli scored three times, senior Justin Kelly (Collegeville, Pa.) assisted on a trio of goals, and Donovan, Moran, and Ward all scored once. Donovan added an assist on the day as well. 

Madden controlled the game offensively for the Lasers, scoring six goals on nine shots. Gallant tallied a pair, while Sullivan and Egan both picked up a goal and an assist. Tomasetti scored and added two helpers, and Pino notched one goal. 

The Saints will await tonight's NCAA Men's Lacrosse Selection Show to find out who they'll face in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The show will begin at 9:00 p.m. EST and can be live streamed at ncaa.com.

2015-16 GREAT NORTHEAST ATHLETIC CONFERENCE ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM

2016 GNAC Men's Lacrosse All-Tournament Team

Julian Bandereck, Johnson & Wales University

Max Stone, Johnson & Wales University

Matt Flaherty, Norwich University

Ryan McCarthy, Norwich University

Joe Bove, Lasell College

Ryan Madden, Lasell College

Mike Pino, Lasell College

Chris Thomas-Ikier, Lasell College

Chris Baglivi, Emmanuel College

Nick DelMonaco, Emmanuel College

Donnie Litzelman, Emmanuel College

Michael Sousa, Emmanuel College

Chris Curtis, Emmanuel College  – Tournament MVP