Stage Set Between Mount Ida, Emmanuel for Saturday's GNAC Men's Lacrosse Championship

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Emmanuel to host
Mount Ida on Saturday (1:00 p.m.)

In semifinal action of the 2015 GNAC Men's Lacrosse Tournament, top-seeded Emmanuel College defeated fourth-seeded Lasell College, 9-6, and second-seeded Mount Ida College staved off sixth-seeded Norwich University, 6-5, to set the stage for Saturday afternoon's conference championship game at 1:00 p.m.

#2 MOUNT IDA 6, #6 NORWICH 5
NEWTON, Mass. - Mount Ida College junior Lucas Stralka's (E. Greenwich, R.I.) fifth goal of the game was the only tally of the fourth quarter on Thursday afternoon and it gave the Mustangs a 6-5 lead over Norwich University in front of an excited home crowd.

The work of freshman goalie Cam Hayward (Derry, N.H.), who had three of his 11 saves in the fourth quarter, including one at the final horn, preserved that lead and sent Mount Ida back to the GNAC championship game for the fourth time in program history.

The win is also the tenth straight for Mount Ida, who move to 11-4 on the season and will make their 11thconference title game appearance in the last 12 years.

Stralka was the offensive key for Mount Ida in a game which saw Norwich take a one-goal lead on five occasions, only to have Mount Ida tie the game each time, often just moments later.

The teams each scored once in each of the first two quarters, with the Cadets taking the lead just 12 seconds into the game thanks to Pete Soonthornprapuet (Pelham, N.Y.).

 Stralka notched his first goal of the game halfway through the quarter, and then again tied the game with 5:54 left in the half after C.J. Dolan (East Sandwich, Mass.) had given Norwich the lead again just over a minute into the second quarter.

The third quarter saw a barrage of goals, as Matt Flaherty (Portland, Maine) scored 1:23 into the second half.

Mount Ida junior Steven Koziski (Peabody, Mass.) broke the tie again less than a minute later, but Norwich retook the lead before the ten minute mark through the first of two goals by Ryan McCarthy (Medford, Mass.). Stralka scored twice in the third quarter to tie the game at four and then again at five, with 1:31 left in the third quarter after McCarthy's second of the game came on a feed from Flaherty, the only assist of the day for the Cadets.

Mount Ida was outshot 11-2 in the fourth quarter, but cashed in on their limited opportunities with the deciding goal of the game, which came on Stralka's 27th marker of the season, with an assist from Shaun Royce (South Windsor, Conn.).

Hayward's 11 saves is tied for the second most in his freshman season. Norwich senior Ryan Fecteau (Danvers, Mass.) made nine stops in the loss.

The Cadets outshot Mount Ida 33-21 and had a 46-25 edge in ground balls, as well as a 10-5 edge in face-offs thanks to the work of senior Andrew Bracy (Carthage, N.Y.).

This is the fourth straight season that the Mustangs and Cadets have met in the GNAC postseason. Mount Ida stopped a four-game losing streak against Norwich earlier this year with a triple overtime victory, a streak that included Norwich eliminating Mount Ida from the postseason the last two years. Norwich sees their season end with their record dipping below .500 (7-8), after posting a 4-4 mark in the conference this year.  

#1 EMMANUEL 9, #4 LASELL 6
BOSTON, Mass. – Trailing by a goal at the half, Emmanuel outscored Lasell, 7-3, in the second stanza en route to victory at Roberto Clemente Field. With the win, EC improves to 12-4 on the year and advances to the GNAC Championship for the second consecutive season while the Lasers fall to 9-7.

Trailing 3-1 late in the first half, the Saints got a huge lift from senior attack Jake Jaskolski (St. Clair Shores, Mich.) with his first goal of the evening with 2:00 to play in the second quarter to cut the lead to 3-2. Jaskolski was able to streak down the left side of the field in transition and sneak a near side shot by Lasell junior goalie Davis Walen (Longmeadow, Mass.) to make it a one-goal game heading into the half.

Emmanuel came out in the second half with the momentum and scored two quick goals to set the tone for the remainder of the action. Senior middieJake Pickett (Stratham, N.H.) won the opening faceoff and came down to score the game-tying goal just 16 seconds into the third quarter with a sniper shot from 25 feet out at the top of the zone to make it 3-3.

Just 38 seconds after Pickett's goal, Jaskolski gave Emmanuel its first lead of the night with his second goal of the game as the senior hit a shot on the run in front of the net to give the hosts a 4-3 lead with 14:06 remaining in the period.

Minutes later, the Lasers took advantage of an Emmanuel penalty as junior attack Casey Sullivan (Quaker Hill, Conn.) deposited a near-side man-up goal with the help of a long skip pass from senior middie Aaron LaPorte (Gorham, Maine) to make it 4-4 at the 12:04 marker.

After almost 11 minutes of scoreless action, the Saints took the lead for good on an unassisted marker by sophomore attack Tony Cibelli (Westboro, Mass.). Cibelli was the beneficiary of good ball movement around the back of the net before he did all the hard work in front of the net for his 36^th goal of the year to make it 5-4.

Fifteen seconds later, Pickett had déjà-vu from his goal to start the quarter by winning the faceoff and coming down to score with a long-range shot from the top of the offensive zone to give Emmanuel a 6-4 cushion heading into the final quarter of play.

Sophomore attack Donnie Litzelman (Stratham, N.H.) made it a 7-4 contest with an early fourth quarter goal but the Lasers responded with a man-up score by Sullivan, his second of the game, to cut the lead to 7-5 with 10:34 to play. Sullivan buried a deep shot from the top corner of the box to make it a two-goal game with the help of an assist from junior Pat Egan (Glen Rock. N.J.).

Emmanuel stayed strong and answered with a man-up goal of its own to make it 8-5 as junior middie Chris Curtis (Ashland, Mass.) scored his team-leading 37^thgoal of the year, finishing a Jaskolski feed in the slot with 8:50 left in the regulation.

Lasell continued to fight and a man-up score by Egan with 5:54 to play once again made it a two-goal game at 8-6. Egan curled around a screen and his shot on the run beat Emmanuel senior goalie Austin Lauzierstick side to keep things interesting.

Jaskolski made sure to silence the Lasers with his third goal of the night off the ensuing faceoff to give the Saints a 9-6 advantage with 5:07 left to play.

Lauzier and the Saints defense made the three-goal lead hold up to secure Emmanuel's 10th consecutive win and a return trip to the conference championship. Lauzier ended the game with eight saves while Walen posted 15 saves in a fantastic losing effort.

Game recaps Courtesy of Mount Ida, Emmanuel Athletics Communications. 

First Round - Tuesday, April 21 | RECAP
Game 1: #4 Lasell 21, #5 Rivier 8 | BOX
Game 2: #6 Norwich 7, #3 Johnson & Wales 6 | BOX 

Semifinals - Thursday, April 23
Game 3: #1 Emmanuel 9, #4 Lasell 6 | BOX
Game 4: #2 Mount Ida 6, #6 Norwich 5 | BOX

Championship - Saturday, April 25
Game 5: #2 Mount Ida at #1 Emmanuel - 1:00 p.m.

– #theGNAC –