EXETER, N.H. – Senior Sarah Doherty (Franklin, Mass.) scored a pair of goals and junior goalkeeper Jane Bunn (St. John's, Fla.) made 16 saves, but the 11th-ranked Saint Anselm College women's lacrosse team dropped a 9-5 decision to the fourth-ranked University of New Haven on a cold and blustery Sunday afternoon at Phillips Exeter Academy's Phelps Stadium.
The Hawks drop their second straight to fall to 2-2 on the season and 1-2 in Northeast-10 Play, while the Chargers improve to 5-1, 2-1 NE-10.
In addition to Doherty's two points, fellow senior Kaitlyn Stazinski (Pembroke, Mass.) also registered two points on a goal and an assist, while juniors Caitlin Villareal (Portsmouth, R.I.) and Lauren Perry (Merrimack, N.H.) each added a goal.
New Haven grabbed the game's first score when Corinne Fisher struck on a free-position shot at 20:52. Saint Anselm responded 1:11 later as Stazinski set up Doherty to knot the game before Villareal's unassisted tally put the Hawks up, 2-1, at the 18:02 mark. Saint Anselm then expanded the lead to 3-1 with a Stazinski free-position tally at 10:56.
The Chargers would clamp down on defense from there, however, and a pair of Courtney Ackland goals would tie the game at three heading into the break.
Kathryn Campbell opened the second half by setting up goals from Ashley Travis and Nicole Belanger to give the Chargers a 5-3 advantage with 22:31 remaining in the contest. Ackland potted her third at 20:31 and Caitlin O'Brien followed to make it 7-3 just 1:01 later. Campbell potter her first 1:27 after that to stretch the lead to five before Fisher scored again after receiving a Campbell feed to put New Haven in front, 9-3, with 10:25
Perry and Doherty would add unassisted goals at 6:23 and 5:00, respectively, but the Chargers would hang on for the victory.
Bunn, who recorded 15 saves Tuesday at Adelphi University, came up three saves shy of matching her career high. Marissa McDermott stopped six shots, including five in the opening half, for the Chargers.
New Haven held a 26-17 advantage in shots, including 14-6 in the second stanza, and won 11 of the game's 16 draw controls. Each team was 1-for-3 on its free-position attempts.
The Hawks return to action Tuesday, March 24 at 4 p.m. when they travel to take on American International College. 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.
