BRIGHTON, Mass. – The second seed Simmons lacrosse team (16-2) advances to the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) semifinals with an 18-11 win over the seventh seed Lasell University, Saturday afternoon.
Sophomore attacker Julia Chausse was quick to put the Sharks on the board first then connected with graduate senior Abby Stoller 19 seconds later to take a 2-0 lead. Stoller pushed the lead to three and it appeared as though Simmons was off to the races.
However, Lasell was not going to back down. With under five minutes remaining in the quarter, McKenna McCoole found Serena Speight in front of the net for the Lasers first goal. The two teams exchanged goals for the next two minutes as the Sharks maintained their three-goal lead. But the Lasers took advantage of a pair of free-position shots just before the end of the period to cut the deficit to one, 5-4.
The Sharks and Lasers began the second period with back-to-back goals. Junior Sammi Hogan pushed the Simmons lead back to two on a free-position, but Speight found Sophia Gadsden on a player down opportunity to bring Lasell back within one. In the next two minutes, Hogan was instrumental in increasing the Shark lead back to three, connecting with first-year Kat Wood before scoring her second goal of the quarter on a free position. The Sharks outscored the Lasers 8-3 in the quarter to head into halftime with a 13-7 lead.
Lasell came out at the start of the second half strong, opening with back-to-back free-position goals from Sydney Brady and Speight to climb to within four, 13-9. But the Sharks responded rattling off four unanswered goals to take a commanding 17-9 at the end of three periods.
Hogan moved it to five unanswered, finding the back of the net for the sixth time, at the start of the fourth quarter to take an 18-9 lead. Despite trailing by nine, the Lasers were not going to give up and connected to fight their way back into the game, receiving a goal from Speight with eight minutes remaining. But it was not enough. The Sharks defense was too tough and kept the Lasers at bay.
Senior goalkeeper Nicole Elliott was outstanding in net, registering seven saves to earn her 16th win of the season.
SIMMONS HIGHLIGHTS
- Junior Sammi Hogan tied her career single-game high in points, tallying six goals and one assist for seven points on the afternoon.
- Sophomore Julia Chausse registered six points, recording three goals and three assists.
- Graduate senior Abby Stoller netted four goals on the day.
GAME NOTES
- Simmons improves to 3-14 against Lasell all-time.
- The Sharks won the draw control battle, 23-10, while scooping 25 ground balls.
UP NEXT
No. 2 Simmons will host No. 3 Johnson & Wales on Tuesday, May 3 in GNAC semifinals at 7 p.m. at Daly Field.