Hamilton Men's Lacrosse Captures 9-5 Win at Lasell

NEWTON, MA- Hamilton College captured their third straight men's lacrosse win, 9-5, over the Lasell College Lasers on Saturday afternoon at Grellier Field.  

The Continentals were led by Henry Burchenal (Summit, NJ) and Paul Armideo (Homer, NY) with four points apiece.  Burchenal scored all four points on goals while Armideo set up Burchenal for three of those shots and added a goal of his own.  Paul Citarella (Mahwah, NJ) won 11-for-17 attempts on the face off X and also finished tied for a game-high five ground balls.  

Hamilton goalkeepers Garrett Akie (Sherborn, MA) and Max Vaickus (Hingham, MA) shared time in the net, turning away four Laser shots each.  Akie held the Lasers scoreless through the first thirty minutes and Vaickus secured the win in the second half.  

Lasell starting goalkeeper Mike Kelliher (Weymouth, MA) had a strong performance despite the loss.  The junior collected ten saves in three quarters, allowing six of the Continental’s goals.  Eric Walsh (Weymouth, MA) relieved Kelliher in the final period, making two stops. 

Brian Yepez (Hillsborough, NJ) notched two goals for the Lasers and Sam Wilcox (Norfolk, MA), Sean Speciale (Hillsborough, NJ), and Nick Sampson (Londonderry, NH) each tallied one more. 

Kelliher made three quick saves in the opening three minutes during which time the possession was held entirely by the visitors.  Lasell’s first scoring opportunity came at the 9:56 mark with a diving shot by Dylan Gray (Bayport, NY) but Akie deflected the attempt.  Lasell would test Akie three more times in the quarter, all of which were turned away by the sophomore netminder. 

Hamilton took the lead at 6:17 when Luke Walsh (Loudonville, NY) found Burchenal perched in front of the Lasers’ net for a goal.  Burchenal would also score the next two goals on identical plays, as he cut through the middle and ripped the shot off a pass from Armideo, putting the Continentals ahead 3-0 at halftime.

Wilcox began the scoring for Lasell one minute into the third quarter, breaking away from outside the box and shooting to the lower left corner.  John Ogden (Montclair, NJ) retaliated by driving through Lasell’s coverage to fire in an unassisted goal at 9:56. 

Four minutes later during an extra-man opportunity, Chris Bulkley (Groton, CT) launched a pass to Speciale who was waiting to redirect the pass into the Continentals cage, making the score 4-2.   

Armideo improved upon Hamilton’s lead at 3:46, as he picked up a ground ball and sprinted from just over midfield to score.   Luke Sadoff (Massapequa, NY) tallied the game winner with 41 seconds left in the quarter after he picked off a clear attempt by Lasell and blasted a shot from two steps beyond the restraining line on a wide open net.  Sampson would record Lasell’s third goal with 12 seconds on the clock, rounding the Continental’s net to score, unassisted.

Lasell closed the gap to two goals (6-4) 2:15 into the final period on Yepez’s first goal.  Adam Foss (Billerica, MA) picked up a loose ball and found Jon Elia (East Lyme, CT) just outside Hamilton’s crease.  Elia shot a parallel pass over to Yepez who shot behind Vaickus for the tally. 

The tandem of Armideo and Burhcenal struck again at 7:40, followed by Yepez’s second goal, unassisted, at 5:02. Hamilton would go on to score three more goals before time expired. 

Hamilton returns to New York with a perfect 3-0 slate, and Lasell drops to 1-4 this season.  The Lasers will continue to face non-conference opponents when they hit the road to play next at Keene State College on Saturday, March 27th at 1:00 p.m.