Lasell Women’s Soccer soars past Albertus Magnus

NEWTON, Mass. – Junior Caitlin Rotonnelli (Meredith, N.H.) recorded her first career hat trick Monday afternoon as the Lasell College women's soccer team posted an emphatic 7-1 victory over Albertus Magnus College in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) contest at Taylor Field.

Rotonnelli added an assist in the offensive barrage for the Lasers. She was able to complete her hat trick within the first 24 minutes of game time, giving her six goals on the season. Lasell won its fifth game in a row to improve to 12-4 overall and 11-0 in conference play, while Albertus drops to 4-11 overall and 3-9 in the GNAC.

The Lasers also extended their winning streak over GNAC opponents to 20 games, dating back to last season.

After scoring two unassisted goals in the first 10 minutes, Rotonnelli's assist came off a great through ball that was finished off perfectly by sophomore Sophia DiPlacido (Hudson, Mass.). Rotonnelli's third goal was a beautiful strike off her left foot that she was able to sneak past Albertus Magnus goalie Lexi Fenn into the upper left corner of the net.

While senior Carly Zdanek (Newton, N.J.) didn't put one in the back of the net, she garnered two assists, leading a Lasers attack that totaled 28 shots on the day. Senior Morgan Pinksten (Pelham, N.H.) also generated a lot of chances for the Lasers, generating four shots with two of them being on goal.

Freshmen Kaylee Contreras (Pawtucket) and Serena Speight (Biddeford, Maine) tacked on goals late in the first half to push the Laser lead to 6-0 by the intermission. Haley Andrews put the visitors on the board midway through the second half and Lasell freshman Natalia Profenno (Saco, Maine) rounded out the scoring with the first goal of her career.

The Laser defense had an impressive game as Albertus Magnus wasn't able to generate much offense, managing just two shots in the first half and five for the game. Junior Kyla Bragg (Sanford, Maine) and sophomore Nikki Power (Norwood, Mass.) split time in goal for the Lasers, each making two saves.

The Lasers finish up their regular season on Wednesday at Emmanuel College for a matchup with the Saints at 7:00 p.m. The Falcons finish up their season on Tuesday in a non-conference matchup against Coast Guard.

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