MANCHESTER, N.H. – Senior Allee Ramzi (Cumberland, R.I.) made 11 saves, junior Caitlin Villareal (Portsmouth, R.I.) scored four goals and fellow junior Michelle Kudlate (Waltham, Mass.) dished four assists as the 20th-ranked Saint Anselm College women's lacrosse team posted a 17-6 victory on Senior Day against crosstown rival Southern New Hampshire on Saturday afternoon at Grappone Stadium.
The Hawks win their second straight to improve to 6-6 on the season, including 5-5 in Northeast-10 play, while the Penmen, who had come in winners of four of their last five, drop to 6-7, 4-7 NE-10. Saint Anselm has now captured four straight in the series versus Southern New Hampshire.
Kudlate led the way, offensively, with a game-high five points, while Villareal followed with four. Senior Marissa Daly (Marshfield, Mass.) and junior Erin Marshall (Woburn, Mass.) each potted three goals, with senior Kaitlyn Stazinski (Pembroke, Mass.) and junior Katie McKenna (Danvers, Mass.) also adding three points on two goals and an assist.
Senior Sarah Doherty (Franklin, Mass.) set the tone early as she scored an unassisted goal just 32 seconds into the contest. Villareal followed with her first of the game over five minutes later to double the Saint Anselm lead to 2-0. Stazinski then set up Kudlate's only goal of the game before Villareal struck again to make it 4-0 at the 19:24 mark.
Kudlate began her barrage of assists with one to Daly and then McKenna connected on a pass to Marshall to give the Hawks a 6-0 lead at 15:46 with five different goal scorers contributing. Villareal found the back of the net for the third time and then Kudlate handed out helpers to Daly and Marshall to stretch the Saint Anselm lead to 9-0 with 9:08 remaining in the opening half.
SNHU closed the first-half scoring with goals from Emily King and Courtney Nivala to trim its halftime deficit to 9-2.
Marshall, Daly and Stazinski opened the second-half scoring over a span of 2:07 before Kudlate notched her fourth assist on a feed to Villareal that made it 13-2 at the 22:04 mark. Lindsay Bucknam scored two straight for the Penmen, but tallies from Stazinski and McKenna answered to keep it an 11-goal game at 15-4 with 11:04 to play.
The Penmen struck twice more, including King's second of the game, but junior Bebe Butts (Windham, Maine) set up McKenna's second and sophomore Rachel Henderson (Powell, Ohio) found the back of the cage off a pass from freshman Meaghan Sheehy (Wilmot, N.H.) to bring the game to its final margin.
Ramzi turned away 11 of 17 shots she faced, while Nicole Kennedy made six saves.
Saint Anselm outshot Southern New Hampshire, 32-22, including 19-12 in the opening half. The Hawks also held a 14-11 edge in draw controls and were 2-for-4 on free-position chances, while the Penmen were 0-for-4.
Seniors Ramzi, Stazinski, Doherty, Daly and Molly McGaffigan (Groton, Mass.) were honored in a ceremony prior to the game. The day was also special for McGaffigan and the Hawks as they hosted their fourth annual "Teal the Field" initiative to raise money and awareness for "Ovations for the Cure," a non-profit organization dedicated to the relentless pursuit of a cure for ovarian cancer. Teal the Field was organized by McGaffigan, who was affected by the disease at just 15-years-old and is now cancer free and a key cog in the Saint Anselm defense.
The Hawks return to action Monday, April 20 at 7 p.m. when they play host to Merrimack College at Grappone. 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.
