Women's Soccer Heads to 7th GNAC Championship with 5-1 Win over Monks

NEWTON, Mass. (11/2/16) -- The top-seeded Lasell College women's soccer team will play for its seventh consecutive Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) title after earning a 5-1 win over fourth-seeded St. Joseph's College of Maine in a semifinal contest Wednesday afternoon at Taylor Field.

Junior Casey Meissner (Sandwich, Mass.) scored two goals, while sophomore Carly Zdanek (Newton, N.J.) added a goal and an assist as the Lasers improved to 17-2-1 on the season. The Monks, who defeated Simmons in the quarterfinal round, finish the season at 10-7-3.

Meissner and Zdanek each posted five shots to lead the Lasell attack, with Meissner putting three on net. Junior Sarah LaClair (Belchertown, Mass.) finished her 16th victory of the season with two saves in each half.

The Lasers scored just 10:41 into the contest as Meissner finished a loose ball that deflected back into the box off senior Megan Cullen's (Amesbury, Mass.) blocked shot. Cullen's assist was her fifth helper and 45th point of the season.

SJC leveled the score in the 30th minute with Haley DaGraca heading home her conference-best 21st goal of the season. Junior Sarah Comtois (Lowell, Mass.) sent a high ball into the box that LaClair just got a piece of, but DaGraca finished the rebound.

As the teams entered halftime in a 1-1 tie, the Lasers held a 9-4 shot advantage. Monks goalkeeper Brooke Troup (East Bridgewater, Mass.) made four saves in the opening period.

Lasell closed the game with four unanswered goals to seal the victory, and finished the game with five or more goals for the sixth time this season. The Lasers posted a dominating 13-2 shot advantage in the back half of the game, while earning two of their four corner kicks.

Senior Devon Day (Hartland, Vt.) netted the eventual game-winner in the 60th minute as she finished a cross from Zdanek, her GNAC-leading ninth assist of the season. Meissner added her second goal of the game and seventh this season, beating Troup to the post with a header in the 64th minute. Sophomore Erika Badger (Scituate, Mass.) tallied the assist off a textbook set piece.

In the 72nd minute, Zdanek added a goal of her own to give Lasell a three-goal advantage. The sophomore's tenth goal of the season came on a shot from the bottom corner and found the back of the net at the far post.

Sophomore Morgan Pinksten (Pelham, N.H.) slipped the Lasers' final goal of the game home less than a minute later, at the 72:32 marker, following up freshman Caitlin Rotonnelli's (Meredith, N.H.) assist.

Troup finished the contest with seven saves on 12 shots on goal, but fell to 9-5-3 to end her junior season.

The Lasers will play for their seventh GNAC title in as many years on Saturday, November 5 at 1:00 p.m., hosting the winner of tonight's other semifinal contest between No. 7 Suffolk and No. 3 Albertus Magnus.