JWU Captures GNAC Men's Soccer Title Following PK Shootout

NEWTON, Mass. – The Lasell College men's soccer team fell on penalties to Johnson and Wales University in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference championship match. The two teams played to a 3-3 draw through 110 minutes of action before the Wildcats captured the conference championship 5-3 in the penalty shootout. Lasell is 15-3-2 on the season after the draw, while Johnson and Wales is 14-1-6 and will head to the NCAA tournament next weekend.

Manny Alves (Pawtucket, R.I.), Conor Fitzgerald (Marshfield, Mass.) and Mike Skelton (Conway, N.H.) all scored for the Lasers while Johnson and Wales got a pair of goals from Ray Durski (Monroe, N.J.) and a finish from Kyle Metz (St. Jame's, N.Y.) in the match.

Lasell got on the board in the 21st minute when Manny Alves got on the end of a corner by Nery Guerra (Guatemala City, Guatemala), hammering the ball home and putting Lasell in front 1-0. Lasell was unable to add to their lead during the remainder of the first half, despite an 8-2 advantage in shots over the opening 45 minutes.

The Lasers continued to control the momentum early in the second half, pushing their lead to 2-0 in the 56th minute when Jared Lewis (Haverhill, Mass.) played Conor Fitzgerald in on goal and Fitzgerald slotted past JWU keeper Ryan Dzierawski (Oakland, Mich.).

The Wildcats began to gain a foothold in the contest and took advantage of a Lasell foul to earn a free kick 35 yards from frame. JWU's Durski sent a ball into the Lasers box that evaded a screened off Lasell keeper Miguel Colmenares (Caracas, Venezuela) and finding the back of the net to cut the Lasell advantage to 2-1 in the 65th minute.

Lasell padded their lead when a strike from Mike Skelton was deflected and eluded Dzierwaski giving the home side a 3-1 advantage in the 75th minute.

The Wildcats playing with a renewed sense of urgency put the Lasers on their back foot and the visitors trimmed the lead to 3-2 when O'kyle Corridon (Selden, N.Y.) beat a Lasell defender to the endline and crossed the ball back across the face of the goal where Kyle Metz finished on the back post. Less than a minute later, Metz eluded a pair of Lasell defenders on the right flank and served the ball onto the back stick where Durski took advantage and headed the ball back across the goal into the side netting to tie the match in the 81st minute.

The Wildcats continued to press forward but were unable to find a goal over the final minutes of the second half, sending the championship into extra time. JWU controlled the action in during the first extra period and only a diving save by Colmenares kept the match from ending on a strike from Dustin Hughes (Holden, Mass.) in the 99th minute.

Lasell regained the momentum in the second extra period, but Dzierawski saved a shot from Guerra then stopped a Skelton free kick from 30 yards out in the 110th minute, sending the match to penalties.

Johnson and Wales held a 4-3 edge in the shootout when Durski stepped up and knocked home his attempt to propel the Wildcats past Lasell 5-3 on penalties to capture the GNAC title and the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.

Ryan Dzierawski saved eight shots in the contest for JWU while Lasell's Colmenares stopped seven shots in the match.

JWU's Dzierawski was named the tournament's most valuable player and was joined by Kyle Metz, O'kyle Corridon, Ray Durski and Xavier Carty (Mt. Vernon, N.Y.) on the all-tournament team .

Lasell was repsresented by Mike Skelton, Nery Guerra and Brennen Adams (Southbury, Conn.) on the All-tournament squad along with Donato Piroscafo (Naugatuck, Conn.) and Dan Dwyer (Hamden, Conn.) from Albertus Magnus and Joe Young (McLean, Va.) and Alec Brigante (Colchester, Vt.) from Norwich University.

*Release courtesy of Lasell College Sports Information Dept.