NEW HAVEN, Conn. – Junior Caitlin Villareal (Portsmouth, R.I.) notched a career-high seven goals, including the 100th of her career, to lead the 10th-ranked Saint Anselm College women's lacrosse team to Saturday's 19-5 victory against Southern Connecticut State University in its Northeast-10 opener at Albertus Magnus College's Celentano Field.
The Hawks improve to 2-0 on the season, including 1-0 in the Northeast-10, while the Owls dip to 0-2, 0-2 NE-10.
Villareal, who became the sixth member of the program to reach the century mark in goals, matched her career best of eight points as she also added an assist. Senior Marissa Daly (Marshfield, Mass.) recorded seven points as she potted four goals and matched her career high with three helpers.
Daly scored the game's first goal just 40 seconds in off a feed from freshman Erica Mattila (Westford, Mass.). Junior Michelle Kudlate (Waltham, Mass.) made it 2-0 at the 26:47 mark off a pass from senior Sarah Doherty (Franklin, Mass.), before Villareal found the back of the net for the first time just 44 seconds later at 26:03. Mattila converted a free-position try just 25 seconds after that and the Hawks led 4-0. Senior Kaitlyn Stazinski (Pembroke, Mass.) made it a fifth different goal scorer for Saint Anselm at 20:26.
Southern Connecticut finally jumped on the board 20 seconds later, but the Hawks answered by reeling off seven straight goals, including four from Villareal and three from Daly – two assisted by Kudlate and one by Villareal – to open a commanding 12-1 advantage with 11:12 remaining in the first.
The Owls scored again to stop the bleeding, but Daly returned two earlier favors by setting up Villareal and the second of two straight Mattila tallies. Junior Lauren Perry (Merrimack, N.H.) then closed the scoring with just two seconds on the clock before the break to send Saint Anselm into the half with a 17-2 lead.
Villareal fittingly kicked off the second half with a free-position goal four minutes in before Junior Erin Marshall (Woburn, Mass.) tallied her only goal of the game off Daly's third assist at 17:31. Nicole Healy scored her second of the game and then freshman Meaghan Sheehy (Wilmot, N.H.) answered to bring the score to 19-3 before the Owls scored the final two goals of the contest.
Junior goalkeeper Jane Bunn (St. John's, Fla.) stopped three of the five shots she faced in the first half, while senior Allee Ramzi (Cumberland, R.I.) played the second half and turned away five of the eight shots that came her way. Nora Anderson made 10 saves for Southern Connecticut.
Saint Anselm held a 36-25 advantage in shots, including 26-13 in the opening stanza. Southern Connecticut owned a slight 14-12 edge in draw controls. The Hawks were 3-for-10 on free-position opportunities, while the Owls went 1-for-5.
The Hawks return to action Tuesday, March 17 at 4 p.m. when they take on top-ranked Adelphi University. The next home game for the Hawks is Sunday, March 22 at 1 p.m. when they play host to the sixth-ranked University of New Haven 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 and following us on Twitter @STAHawks.
