MANCHESTER, N.H. – Senior midfielder James Peters (Medway, Mass.) recorded his first hat trick of the season but the Saint Anselm men's lacrosse team suffered a 16-6 defeat in a soggy and chilly 2015 Northeast-10 Conference opener at the hands of No. 3 Adelphi University Saturday afternoon at Grappone Stadium.

The loss was the third straight to a ranked opponent for the Hawks, who drop to 0-3 overall and 0-1 in NE-10 play. Adelphi held its unbeaten season intact, improving to 5-0 overall and 3-0 in league play.

As it has all season, Saint Anselm got off to a rocky start to open the first quarter as the Panthers put away two goals in the first minute and a half of action. Sophomore Colin Swanson (Nashua, N.H.) cut the lead in half with an unassisted rocket from just out front of the crease, but Adelphi would score the next six straight over a seven-minute span to take complete control. Junior Ben Warren (Georgetown, Mass.) scored his second goal of the season at the 3:41 mark of the opening stanza but Adelphi responded with a goal with just 28 seconds left to surge to a 9-2 lead after the first quarter.

The Hawks snapped to life in the second period, creating several scoring opportunities while holding Adelphi out of their offensive zone. Peters recorded the only goal of the second quarter scored by either team at the 3:53 mark as the Hawks picked up a little momentum heading into the halftime intermission.

Much like the first, Adelphi began the second half with a barrage of four goals before Peters' third goal of the season at the four-minute mark stopped the run. Peters and senior Geoff Kennedy (Gloucester, Mass.) each added a score in the fourth period, but the damage had been done.

Freshman goalkeeper Lucas DeAngelo (Byfield, Mass.) took the loss, picking up one save in the opening 11 minutes of action.  Junior James O'Neill (East Walpole, Mass.) relieved the rookie, tallying 10 saves on 18 shots the rest of the game. The Adelphi goalkeeping tandem of John McGrath and DJ Mauro each played one half and combined for nine saves.

Saint Anselm will return to Northeast-10 league action next Saturday, traveling to Pace University for a noon matchup against the Setters.

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