GARDEN CITY, N.Y. – Junior Geoff Kennedy (Gloucester, Mass.) recorded a team-high five points, but the Saint Anselm College men's lacrosse team suffered a 14-8 loss to No. 2 nationally-ranked Adelphi University on Saturday afternoon on the road at Motamed Field.
With the defeat, Saint Anselm drops to 0-3 overall and 0-1 in Northeast-10 play, while the Panthers remain perfect at 4-0, 1-0 NE-10.
Adelphi jumped out to a 3-0 lead, before Kennedy struck at 14:37 to open the second quarter and put the Hawks on the board. Kennedy picked up a pass from junior James Peters (Medway, Mass.) on the extra-man advantage for the 3-1 strike.
The Panthers answered Saint Anselm's goal, however, scoring six straight to take a 9-1 lead with just seconds remaining in the second. Kennedy scored his second of the day with 11 seconds left in the half to make it a 9-2 game.
More than half the third quarter went by before either team found the net and then the Hawks and Panthers traded back-to-back goals bringing the score to 11-4 with 3:12 left in the third. Senior Jake Mallinson (Middletown, R.I.) was responsible for both of the Saint Anselm tallies. Peters picked up an assist on the first – a power-play goal – and Kennedy recorded a helper on the second.
Adelphi scored to make it 12-4, before Mallinson scored his third in a row for Saint Anselm after he connected with senior Andrew Messner (Wakefield, R.I.) with 29 seconds left in the third, closing scoring in that quarter.
The Panthers potted a pair to open the final quarter and the Hawks notched the final three of the afternoon, bringing the game to its final score of 14-8. Kennedy, sophomore Ben Warren (Georgetown, Mass.) and Messner each chipped in the final goals for the Hawks. Kennedy assisted Messner's goal to pick up his last point on the day.
Messner grabbed five ground balls, while Kennedy and sophomore goalie James O'Neil (East Walpole, Mass.) each picked up four. O'Neil made nine saves for the visitors, who were outshot 45-38. The Hawks held a 12-9 shot advantage in both the second and fourth quarters.
Adelphi goalie Aiden Bennardo stopped 14 shots for the Panthers. The Hawks were 2-for-3 with the extra man, while the Panthers were successful on one out of their two opportunities.
The Hawks return to action Wednesday, March 19 at 4 p.m. when they open their home slate against Molloy at Grappone Stadium. Stay up-to-date with the latest news, including game previews and recaps, directly from the Saint Anselm College athletic department by liking us on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/STAHawks) and following us on Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/STAHawks).
