MANCHESTER, N.H. - Led by sophomore midfielder Ryan Mee (Medway, Mass.), the Saint Anselm College men's lacrosse team held on for a 6-5 win over the Purple Knights of Saint Michael's College Friday evening under the lights at Grappone Stadium. With the victory, the Hawks move to 3-1 overall on the season and pick up their first Northeast-10 Conference victory (1-0) of the season. The Purple Knights even their overall record at 1-1 while dropping their their first NE-10 game of the year (0-1).
Freshman attack Geoff Kennedy (Gloucester, Mass.) scored what would prove to be the game-winning goal with 5:28 remaining in the fourth quarter, placing Saint Anselm up by a 6-4 margin in the waning minutes of the game. On the play, Mee collected his fourth and final assist of the game after breaking the scoreless tie with a goal just over a minute and a half prior to place Saint Anselm ahead by a 5-4 score.
Through the first 30 minutes of the contest, both teams had combined for three goals as Saint Michael's held a 2-1 lead at the half. For the Purple Knights, Connor Glackin and Pete Donnally sandwiched junior Daniel Sullivan's (Rumford, R.I.) goal at 7:47 of the first period to provide the only scoring punch in the first two stanzas.
The Hawks opened the offensive attacked in the third quarter, outscoring the Purple Knights two-to-one. Freshman midfielder Andy Budz (Williamstown, Mass.) and junior midfielder Kyle Murphy (Middletown, R.I) scored their third and first goals of the season, respectively, to take the 3-2 lead before Donnally struck again for the Purple Knights to even the score exiting the period.
Saint Anselm outpaced the Purple Knights by a three-to-two scoring margin in the decisive fourth quarter. Three of Mee's four points (2-1=3) came in the final quarter to elevate the Hawks to the victory. For Saint Michael's, Marty Vanzo and Kevin Hunt added goals but the Purple Knights could not muster a game-tying goal within the final 4:09 of regulation time.
Reigning Northeast-10 Conference Goaltender of the Week Jonathon O'Reilly (Plano, Texas) collects his third victory of the season, turning aside 13-of-18 shots on net. Saint Michael's netminder Chris DeMairo (1-1) evens his overall record by allowing six goals on 18 shots on goal.
Saint Anselm was 1-for-8 with the extra man. Saint Michael's converted its lone opportunity with the extra player (1-1).
NOTABLES: Exiting play this evening, Saint Anselm boasts a 3-1 record through their first four games of the season, their best start since the 2010 season in which they also opened up their calendar of games with the same record…Forward Andrew Messner (Wakefield, R.I.) is in the midst of an 11-game point streak, having recorded at least one point during each game of that streak to total 30 points (15-15=30)…Sophomore attack Ryan Mee has accumulated three goals and four assists for seven points (3-4=7) in his prior three contests…Freshman Andy Budz has recorded at least one point in his first four collegiate games (3-1=4)...Goaltender Jonathon O'Reilly holds the Northeast-10 Conference lead in both saves (38) and goals-against average (5.07) to his credit through four games…His .667 save percentage also leads qualifying goaltenders within the conference.
Saint Anselm returns to action Tuesday, Mar. 20 as they travel to Springfield, Mass. to face-off against the Yellow Jackets of American International College at Ronald J. Abdow Field in a 7:00 p.m. match. Stay up to date with the latest news directly from the Saint Anselm College athletic department by following the Hawks on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/STAHawks) and Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/STAHawks).
