WALTHAM, Mass. – Junior Erin Marshall (Woburn, Mass.) notched a team-high five points, but the 17th-ranked Saint Anselm College women's lacrosse team fell at 20th-ranked Bentley University, 16-14, Saturday afternoon
The Hawks sink to 4-6 on the season, including 3-5 in Northeast-10 play, while the Falcons improve to 8-4, 7-3 NE-10.
Marshall scored four goals and recorded an assist, while seniors Kaitlyn Stazinski (Pembroke, Mass.) and Sarah Doherty (Franklin, Mass.) each potted three goals. Fellow senior Marissa Daly (Marshfield, Mass.) also registered three points with a trio of assists.
Stazinski gave Saint Anselm a 1-0 lead just 50 seconds in with an unassisted tally and then answered Jackie Brown's goal just 28 seconds later with another unassisted score to make it 2-1 at 26:24.
Bentley scored three straight, including Brown's second, to grab a 4-2 lead with 19:53 remaining in the opening half before junior Caitlin Villareal (Portsmouth, R.I.) converted a free-position attempt and Daly set up Marshall to knot the game at 15:47.
The Falcons snapped the tie over a minute later, but Doherty kept the game even with an unassisted strike at 12:10. Brown kicked off another three-goal run for Bentley that opened its lead up to 8-5 with 7:12 to go, but the Hawks potted three of their own in a span of 1:20 to send the game into the half, tied at eight. Daly bookended the stretch with helpers on goals by Doherty and junior Bebe Butts (Windham, Maine), while Marshall connected on a pass to Stazinski in between.
Brown began the second half with a goal 1:19 in before Carolyn Cruise added to the lead 18 seconds later. Doherty came up with another unassisted score, but Brown answered again to keep Bentley up a pair, 11-9, with 23:26 remaining.
Taylor Lunden responded to a goal by junior Michelle Kudlate (Waltham, Mass.) with one of her own, but Marshall scored a pair in a span of 29 seconds to knot the game at 12-all at the 14:28 mark.
Lunden snapped the tie 12 seconds later, but Kudlate potted her second in under eight minutes to even the game at 13 with 11:22 on the clock. Ellie Shuman struck twice for Bentley in a 34-second stretch and then Erin O'Connor added her second of the contest to give Bentley a commanding 16-13 lead with 5:51 left.
Marshall scored on a free position with 2:30 to play, but Bentley would hold on for the victory.
Junior goalkeeper Jane Bunn (St. John's, Fla.) made nine saves for the Hawks, while Lauren Ochs stopped five shots for the Falcons.
Bentley outshot Saint Anselm, 26-22, including 14-9 in the second half, and dominated the draw control situation with a 22-10 advantage. The Hawks were 3-for-4 on free-position opportunities, while the Falcons went 4-for-5.
The Hawks return to action Tuesday, April 14 at 3:30 p.m. when they take on Saint Michael's College. The next home game for the Hawks is Saturday, April 18 when they play host to Southern New Hampshire University at Grappone. The Hawks will be holding both Senior Day and their annual Teal the Field initiative. 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.
