LASELL TOPS SAINTS TO TAKE 5TH-STRAIGHT GNAC WOMEN’S SOCCER TITLE

NEWTON, Mass. - Lasell College captured its fifth consecutive Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Women's Soccer Championship on Saturday afternoon, when the Lasers defeated Emmanuel College, 6-1.  Lasell, improving to 17-4 on the year, has now earned the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.  Emmanuel, dropping to 13-10 on the season, will wait to hear about a possible ECAC Tournament bid.

Sophomore Megan Cullen (Amesbury, Mass.) netted four goals, while Bridget Lynch (Dover, N.H.) and Kayla Lynch (Dover, N.H.) scored a goal apiece to team up for Lasell's scoring.  EC junior Katelyn Fink (Sanford, Maine) tallied the lone marker for the Saints.

Cullen wasted little time getting on the board for the Lasers, when she finished a pass from Bridget Lynch 43 seconds into the contest. Junior Sarah Jones (Duxbury, Mass.) prepared Bridget Lynch on the play, sending a long ball through the left side of the pitch. The duo connected again in the 18th minute when Cullen netted a header goal in the top right corner of the Saints' net. Cullen tallied again for the Lasers just before halftime when senior Kayla Lynch set her up on a one-on-one situation with the keeper, ending the half with a 3-0 lead.

The hosts would finish with three goals in the opening half, to take a 3-0 lead at the break, despite being out-shot by Emmanuel, 7-5, in the opening frame.  The Lasers connected on all three first-half shots-on-goal.

The Lasers repeated their early-offensive approach two minutes into the second half when Kayla Lynch connected on the end of a cross from her sister. At 47:43, the Saints nearly got on the board, when sophomore Maggie Carey (Swampscott, Mass.) blasted a shot from the 18 yard box that just skimped Lasell's crossbar.

Bridget Lynch continued the scoring for Lasell in the 49th minute when she drilled one into the lower right corner of the net, with Cullen on the assist.

The Saints answered in the 51st minute, when Fink capitalized on a cross from senior captain Amanda Roberts (Hudson, N.Y.), to cut the deficit to 5-1.

After a scoreless 28 minutes, Bridget Lynch looked to mark her second of the game, but was deprived of the opportunity from Saints rookie goalkeeper Victoria Laroche (Hudson, N.H.).

The Lasers tacked on one final goal with two minutes remaining in regulation, when Cullen took advantage of a one-on-one situation with Laroche, and netted the ball to the lower right side of the net, for her fourth score on the afternoon.

Lasell freshman keeper Sarah LaClair (Belchertown, Mass.) saved five of the six shots faced on net.  She closed out the GNAC tournament with one goal-against out of her 15 shots on net.  Laroche stopped six of her 11 shots faced in the effort for the Saints.

Congratulations to Emmanuel's Ari Cardillo (Richmond, Mass.), Fink and Laroche, who all earned spots on the GNAC All-Tournament Team for the Saints.

- Courtesy of Lasell College Sports Information