Lasell Defeats Lacrosse on Wednesday

NEWTON, Mass. – The University of Saint Joseph was dealt an 18-3 loss by the Lasell College Lasers in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) women's lacrosse action on Wednesday afternoon at Grellier Field. The Blue Jays dip to 3-8 overall and 0-7 in the GNAC with the loss, while the Lasers rise to 9-5 and 6-2 in conference play.

11 different players found the back of the net in a rainy setting on Grellier Field for the Lasers on Wednesday afternoon en route to the 18-3 victory. The home team opened the contest with eight unanswered goals, two apiece from Samantha Taylor (Hanover, Mass.) and Chloe Shugrue (Worcester, Mass.), and one from Maria Vasiliadis (Worcester, Mass.), Vanessa Pino (Methuen, Mass.), Jorgia Bergin (Sandwich, Mass.) and Amanda Brock (North Haven, Conn.).

Vasiliadis, who finished the game with her first career hat trick, scored the next marker before USJ's freshman Mary Joerg (Canton, Conn.) and junior Hannah Lemek (Bristol, Conn.) cut the lead to 10-2, with 8:13 left in the half.

St. Joseph was held at the pair of tallies for the remainder the half, as Brooke Landry's (New Milford, Conn.) eighth goal of the season with 5:12 to play forced running time until the final buzzer sounded. The Lasers would end up taking a 15-2 advantage into the halftime intermission.

USJ tightened things up at halftime and limited the Lasers to just three tallies over the second 30 minutes of action. Lemek opened the second period scoring with her second goal of the game and team-leading 28th of the 2017 season before a pair of goals from Victoria Keen (Newington, Conn.) closed the scoring and accounted for the 18-3 final margin.

Vasiliadis led all players with three goals, while Lasell also saw two-goal finishes from Taylor, Brock, Shugrue, Bergin, and Keen. Keen's goals were the first of her collegiate career.

Megan Palumbo (Southington, Conn.), Kaeli Leddy (South Portland, Maine), Jillian Vergados (Tyngsboro, Mass.), Pino, and Landry each finished with one goal, while Pino and Taylor added three helpers.

USJ's junior goalkeeper Emily Bourassa (Bristol, Conn.) saved 12 shots faced on net, and drops to 3-8 on the year with the loss. Brooke Bergeron (Lynn, Mass.) recorded eight stops in the cage for the Lasers and moves to 2-1 this season.

The USJ lacrosse team returns to action next with its final home game of the 2017 season against GNAC perennial Johnson and Wales on Saturday at 1 p.m.