No. 2 seed Lasell College fell in the semifinals of the Great Northeast Athletic Conference men's soccer tournament 2-1 to sixth-seeded Emerson College yesterday.
The win was the fifth in a row for the Lions.
The first 15 minutes passed without a shot from either side. Lasell eventually got off three attempts before Emerson even had one, but it was just one shot that the Lions needed to take the lead.
Emerson freshman forward Chris Nenshati, starting from just outside the midfield circle, cut through three Lasell defenders and pitched a high shot over the diving goalkeeper's head for a score in the 24th minute.
Ten minutes later, the Lions were awarded a direct kick from 30 yards out after a Lasell foul. Casey Shane curled a perfect pass to Ken Nikravesh, who nailed a 19-yard goal in the high right corner of Lasell's net, giving the visitors a two-goal advantage.
The Lasers kept the ball in Lion territory for most of the second half but could generate only five shots, compared to the outshooting Emerson at a 3-to-1 rate in the opening half.
With just 2:41 left in the match, Lasell senior midfielder Shane Vinnicombe initiated a pass from the sideline to freshman forward Eric Fournier, who was two steps off of the midfield circle. Fournier took a chance and launched the long-distance shot, which paid off to mark the Lasers' only goal of the contest.
The Lions (12-7-0) will face top-seeded St. Joseph's College of Maine on Saturday in the GNAC Finals, in Standish, Maine. Game time has yet to be announced.
Lasell walks away from the tournament with a 10-6-3 overall record and will await word on the 2009 ECAC New England Division III Tournament.
