Lasell Knocked out of GNAC Tournament in Quarter Finals

Newton, Mass.- The number three seeded Lasell College women's soccer team fell to number six ranked Saint Joseph College of Connecticut today, 1-0, in the quarter final round of the GNAC Championship Tournament.

The first half ended scoreless with only two shots on goal for Saint Joseph and nine for Lasell. Great defense was played on both sides, especially by Lasell senior Alaina Mitrano (Medford, Mass.) and by Saint Joseph goalkeeper Cait Witham (Prospect, Conn.).  Witham made 15 saves in the contest, and had an incredibly strong performance throughout, withstanding constant pressure by the Lasell offense.

With 26:49 left on the clock in the first half Lasell's Jessica Taylor (Standish, ME) took a shot from 10 yards out that was blocked by Witham.  This led to a scramble in front of the goal ending with Witham diving at the ball for the save.    Shortly afterwards, Witham went headfirst into a sliding save on a breakaway chance by Mary Farley (Middleboro, Mass.) to secure the first half shutout.

The second half of the game picked up at 50:03 when Taylor and Lasell junior Allyson Bushey (Westminster, Mass.) traveled down field for a two-on-one situation with Witham. Taylor passed to Bushey eight yards out where Bushey took a shot that was blocked and came right back to her, Witham went after the ball for a remarkable save.

With 15 minutes left in the second half, Saint Joseph's offense started to take control of the ball when junior Eva Peart (Bloomfield, Conn.) took a shot from the sideline ending in an astounding save by Lasell's second year goalkeeper Elizabeth Stickley (Mashpee, Mass.). Four minutes later, at 79:30, the Blue Jays had a free kick where Peart scored the only goal of the game on an unassisted put back.  Stickley finished the game with a total of seven saves.

Lasell had great individual performances by both Taylor and Jordynn Frollo (Uxbridge, Mass.) who took five shots and eight shots, respectively. Sophomores Meredith Hessler (Middletown, RI), Molly Clarke (Berlin, Conn.), and junior Bushey also helped add to Lasell's total of 25 shots in the contest.

The Lasers end their season with a 9-6-2 overall record and an 8-2-2 conference record. The St. Joseph Blue Jays will continue on to the GNAC Semi-Finals to face the winner of the no. 7 Albertus Magnus and no. 2 Emmanuel match up, on Wednesday, November 4th.

Written by: Olivia Coiro, Sports Information Intern