Springfield, Mass.
(April 24) -- Led by a career-high five-goal
outburst from freshman Dan Stefanini
(Hopkinton, N.H.), the Saint Anselm men's lacrosse team
won its season-high fourth straight game with a 14-11 road win at
American International on Saturday afternoon in Springfield,
Mass.
After the Yellow Jackets jumped out to a quick 1-0 advantage,
Saint Anselm answered with three straight goals to seize a 3-1 lead
with 4:38 left in the first quarter. American International tied
the game in the final minutes of the period, but the Hawks retook
the lead at the 10:43 mark of the second on the 21st goal of the
season from senior Ryan McDonald (Bow,
N.H.).
AIC tied the contest at 4-4, but the Hawks answered with scores
from sophomore Colin Lacey (So.
Hadley, Mass.) and Stefanini and took a 6-4 advantage late
in the second. The Yellow Jackets outscored the Hawks 2-1 in the
final minutes of the half, but the Hawks took a 7-6 lead into the
break.
Stefanini for the Hawks and Dan MacIssac for
AIC each scored two goals for to keep the game at a one-goal margin
before senior Jeff Dunkle (Exeter,
N.H.) scored with five seconds left in the third quarter
for a 10-8 lead entering the final quarter of play.
In the fourth, senior Matt O'Connell
(Charlestown, Mass.) and Lacey scored to make it a
four-goal game at 12-8 and the margin stayed at at least three
goals for the remainder of the 14-11 victory.
Stefanini led the Hawks with five goals, along with two goals
and five assists from O'Connell. Dunkle, Lacey and McDonald also
added two goals each for the Hawks.
Junior netminder Pat Acone (Bow,
N.H.) led the Hawks with 10 saves in the win, while
Eric Whettell made 15 saves in the defeat.
With the win, Saint Anselm improves to 7-4 overall and 5-3 in
the Northeast-10, while the Yellow Jackets are now 3-12 overall,
2-8 in the Northeast-10 and eliminated from Northeast-10 playoff
contention.
Saint Anselm is back in action on Monday afternoon as the Hawks
host Mercy College for a non-conference game beginning at 3 p.m. at
Melucci Field.
