7 minute read
Licensing deal
Sports
The “Lunch with Dan” fundraiser will be active on Monday, March 21 from 5:30 AM to 2 PM. / Courtesy Lex Torrington
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Lacrosse player signs licensing deal
Cont. from Pg. 1 worried that Archie’s, which became a “major piece” of Emerson’s lacrosse culture, could die out during the pandemic. But the
‘How can we work together?’ Franklin said. “It felt like the perfect fit.”
The fundraiser is in partnership with the Daniel J. Hollis Foundation. “Lunch with Dan” will be in full effect on Mar. 21 from 5:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Archie’s will donate all of its profits to the foundation, which will continue its goal to provide opportunities to young athletes with the money.
Torrington said he was surprised, and grateful, that Archie’s was willing to donate 100 percent.
“It really meant a lot,” he said. “They said that they knew about the whole story and so they and they were touched by us wanting to do a fundraiser for him. That’s definitely a highlight for me.”
Franklin has built a social media presence over the course of his collegiate career with his brand “LMFAO Sport” which produces short-form sports-related content. The account has accumulated 319,000 subscribers on Youtube and 11.3 million likes on TikTok. Torrington said social media is an example of how Division III players could use their NIL moving forward.
“It’s also really good for Austin’s brand because he has his own sports, comedy, social media presence on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube’s got over 300 thousand subscribers,” he said. “His brand sort of fits into his business model… I saw an opportunity to establish a culture of Division III athletes making NIL deals with small businesses that everyone can benefit from.”
Franklin said having a decent social media presence can be a very important asset for all college students.
“Social media can be used as a really unique tool to create leverage for yourself,” Franklin said.
Head Coach Matthew Colombini said this opportunity could inspire other players on the team to make their own NIL deals.
“The guys on the team here think it’s fun and exciting,” he said. “It’s open to anybody as long as you get to pursue it yourself… If you’re willing to put in a little bit of work and be creative about it, which Emerson students are certainly known for, you could do something pretty unique.”
Franklin was named a captain of the men’s lacrosse team for the past three seasons and decided to return to Rotch Field with his extra year of eligibility because of the team atmosphere. Colombini said Franklin has always been able to look at things from different perspectives.
“He’s a tremendous leader,” he said. “He’s really helped build the culture and gets the right way of doing things and always puts the team first. He’s a pretty creative guy and he’s always thinking about different ways to do stuff.”
Teammate Pierce Elderage said when he and other players heard about the potential deal, they were unsure about its legitimacy.
“I didn’t know what was going on,” Elderage said. “Then all of a sudden, he made it into something really cool and it’s gonna be really special.”
As the agent for Franklin, Torrington worked with a law student at Brandeis University. Colombini said the opportunity is representative of what Emerson’s sports
communication and athletics department provides.
“It’s pretty cool that [Franklin] is using one of his teammates who wants to be involved in the agency,” he said “In some fashion, Lex is getting the real-world experience of helping negotiate the deal.”
Moving past Emerson College, Torrington is interested in being a sports agent and Franklin will continue his work in content development and accept a job from DraftKings joining their social media team.
-Austin Franklin Women’s lacrosse dismantles Rhode Island 16-1
Tyler Foy
Beacon Staff
The women’s lacrosse team beat Rhode Island College 16-1 on Wednesday night, pushing its record to 4-1.
The Lions got off to a quick start to the 2022 season, winning the first three games but encountering a road bump in a game against Drew College losing 18-6. Head Coach Jessie Koffman said this loss motivated the team to bounce back.
“I think they really just wanted to snap back from [the loss against Drew College] and they did,” she said after the win against Rhode Island College.
Emerson’s women’s lacrosse team has been very limited over the course of the past two seasons, only playing a combined five games. Koffman said the team is a close-knit group which has helped their success on the field.
“There’s more camaraderie and understanding that we have to just take advantage of the opportunity that we have right now,” she said after the game. “Everyone’s really on the same page and working towards the same goal of just having a fun and winning season.”
Emerson won the initial draw but was stopped on their first possession. It wouldn’t be too long before the Lions’ sophomore attacker Lauren Longstreet pulled off a spin move to score the first goal of the game.
The next goal came from a free position shot just in front of the crease by senior midfielder Ainsley Basic who scored another two goals in the first six minutes.
After just over six minutes, Rhode Island hadn’t shot the ball and was down 4-0. The spree of goals and upper field pressure caused Rhode Island to call their first timeout of the game.
The stoppage of time didn’t slow the Lions’ momentum, and when play resumed Longstreet netted her second goal of the game. Less than 30 seconds later, sophomore attacker Jules Rein extended the lead to six.
Rhode Island had its first look at a goal nine minutes into the game, forcing Emerson’s junior goalie Nina Khosla to make her first save of the night. The ball went down to the other side of the field which ended in another save from the Anchormen.
Rein scored her second goal of the game, making the score 7-0. An intercepted pass by sophomore midfielder Maddy Reyes would start the Lions’ next successful possession, which ended with a goal put into the bottom left corner by Basic.
Before the end of the first quarter, Kohsla was put to the test once again but made the save. The 15-minute quarter ended with Emerson up 8-0.
The second quarter got off to a much slower start and after 90 seconds the Lions were penalized for a clock violation. During this time Khosla made two pivotal saves to keep the shutout going.
Basic scored the first goal of the second quarter on a free shot, starting the Lions on another
Senior midfielder Hannah Beck an assist and two groundballs against Rhode Island College on March 16, 2022. / Sydney Ciardi Beacon Staff
scoring spree including a goal by Reyes running the score up to 100.
The Rhode Island defense kept the Lions away for five minutes, but within the last two minutes of the half, Emerson started to strike again.
Anchormen goalkeeper Shannon O’Connell stepped up to make three saves in less than a minute, but she couldn’t keep the ball out of the net for too long. Basic found an opening to extend the Lions’ lead and on the next draw, Emerson won and scored off a shot by first-year attacker Callie Krosen. The Lions entered the half leading 12-0.
Following the 10-minute intermission, the Lions’ offense came back onto the field with high energy, scoring off a shot from Longstreet to open the second half. It was back and forth for the next nine minutes of play but Rhode Island scored their first goal of the game, breaking up the clean sheet.
First-year midfielder Samantha Duggan scored with less than a minute left to play in the third quarter, extending the Lions’ lead to 14-1.
The fourth quarter played out in a similar fashion as the Lions tallied a goal at the start of the period and another within the last minute. Basic scored six of the team’s 16 goals. The senior captain said the team’s offensive cohesiveness led to the dominant performance.
“Our attack works really well together and it really is a team performance,” Basic said after the game. “We’re really able to work together and play to their strengths on attack.”
The team’s next game will be this Saturday away at Coast Guard Academy for the first NEWMAC match-up of the season. Koffman said the pathway to claiming their first conference win of the season is a repetition of the showcase against Rhode Island College.
“The Coast Guard is going to be a tough opponent,” she said. “We’re going to try and bring the same energy and just go out there and execute the same way that we did tonight.”
