Lasell Advances to GNAC Semi-finals after 6-0 Win over Mount Ida

Newton, Mass.- Lasell College produced a 6-0 shutout victory over neighboring Mount Ida College Saturday afternoon in the quarterfinals of the 2009 GNAC men's soccer tournament.  The Mustangs finish the season with a 5-12-0 overall record while the Lasers will move on and host the semi-finals with a 10-5-2 slate.



Senior goalkeeper Julian Dutton (Madison, Conn.) earned the shutout making fives saves in the process for the Lasers.  Lasell dictated the tempo of the contest from the beginning, controlling the ball for the majority of the minutes.  The Lasers shot 25 times, 16 of which were on goal, while the Mustangs came away with 17 chances, just five on target.



Mount Ida had the first athlete to generate a close-call when Will Daniels (Bethany, Conn.) beat Dutton in a breakaway opportunity at 7:12, but his shot went wide of the net.



Lasell made their move at 12:10 when Kyle Cronin (Weymouth, Mass.) made a key pass from within the six to the top of the penalty box where Mike Skelton (Conway, NH) was waiting.  Skelton let loose a rocket that soared over Steven Enright's (South Kingston, RI) head in the goal.



At 19:32, Skelton sent a beautiful leading pass from the midfield which hit Shane Vinnicombe (Pomfret Center, Conn.) perfectly as he streaked down the right field.  Vinnicombe drilled the shot from the right wing from nine yards out.



Just over one minute later the Lasers struck a third time.  Robby Gonzalez (Palmdale, Cali.) carried the ball down the left-hand side of the field, drawing the defenders in to challenge him.  Just as Mount Ida was about to attack the ball, Gonzalez dished a short pass to trailing Tholemson Francois (Stoneham, Mass.) who put Lasell up 3-0.



Dan Hatch (Avon, Mass.) launched a distance shot from 25 yards out, giving Lasell a 4-0 lead in the 39th minute.  The play began with Eric Fournier (Meriden, Conn.) driving down the middle of the field and challenging Enright one-on-one.  The deflection off Enright bounced directly to Hatch who fired in the shot while the keeper was still out of net.



Before the teams broke for intermission, Evan Gaccione (Westerly, RI) gave Lasell a final goal for the first half.   Jonathan Klippert (Cumberland, ME) sent a cross pass from the right corner to Gaccione who slipped in the fifth Lasell goal of the day.



After nine minutes passed in the second period, Lasell pushed further ahead as Dylan Janosik (Windham, ME) scored his first goal of the season.  The sophomore midfielder drove down field to pick up a long pass directed by Gaccione from the Lasers' backfield.  Janosik challenged the Mustangs' alternate goalkeeper Andrew Clark (Greenville, NY) with a fifty-fifty ball, defeating Mount Ida's last line of defense for the 6-0 lead.



Clark turned away seven shots in Mount Ida's net during the second half.  Daniels was the Mustangs' primary attacker, taking eight total shots, three of which were on goal.



The Lasers will now face the victors of the Suffolk vs. Emerson contest in the semi-finals on Tuesday, November 3rd at 1:00 p.m.