BOSTON – In a battle between two of the Great Northeast Athletic Conference's (GNAC) top teams, the Emmanuel men's lacrosse team came up short in their regular season finale, falling to Lasell by a score of 12-8 on Wednesday night at Roberto Clemente Field.

The loss closes out the Saints' regular season at 9-7 overall and 8-2 in conference play. With the win, the Lasers improve to 12-4 and remain unbeaten in GNAC action at 9-0.

After nearly five minutes of scoreless action, the visitors got on the board first at the 10:07 mark as junior Nate Campbell found the back of the net to break the early tie. Although Lasell took seven shots and Emmanuel tallied eight in the opening quarter, Campbell's goal was the only one to find the net, giving the Lasers a 1-0 edge heading into the second.

Following a caused turnover by sophomore Anthony Sarro, the Saints pushed up the field looking to even the score early in the second quarter. Sophomore Cooper Mehlhorn delivered, putting Emmanuel on the board less than three minutes into the period. From there, Lasell took control as senior Ryan Stone put the visitors back in front with 6:59 to go, and sophomore Sam Guilmette followed just 45 seconds later. The Lasers added two more before the half, taking a 5-1 lead into the break.

With 9:05 remaining in the third quarter, first-year Braxton Bragg got one back for the Saints, but Lasell quickly responded with another goal from Stone. Emmanuel closed the gap to 6-4 with goals from senior Evan Decker and Mehlhorn, but Lasell answered with two more goals to maintain a four-goal lead at 8-4 heading into the fourth quarter.

First-year Jack Condon opened the fourth quarter with a goal for the Lasers, and the period remained back-and-forth from there. The two teams exchanged goals throughout the final 15 minutes, but the Saints could not mount a comeback. With both teams scoring four goals in the period, Emmanuel fell 12-8 in their regular season finale.

Mehlhorn led the attack for Emmanuel, recording a hat-trick and an assist. Junior Cole Cloney added two goals and two assists, while first-year goalkeeper Colby Enos made 12 saves in the loss.

Lasell was paced by Condon, who netted a game-high four goals and added an assist in the win. Stone tallied two goals, and six other Lasers each scored once. Senior Michael Catalano earned the victory in goal, finishing with 16 saves.

Up next, both Emmanuel and Lasell will await the release of the GNAC playoff bracket, with quarterfinal matchups set to begin on Saturday.