MANCHESTER, N.H. – Senior Sarah Doherty (Franklin, Mass.) and junior Caitlin Villareal (Portsmouth, R.I.) each registered four points as the Saint Anselm College women's lacrosse team used a big second half to post a 13-4 victory against Merrimack College on a cold and rainy Monday night at Grappone Stadium.
The Hawks, who clinch a Northeast-10 Championship berth for the third consecutive season with the victory, win their third straight for the first time all year to improve to 7-6, including 6-5 in Northeast-10 play. The Warriors, who drop their third straight against Saint Anselm and their 11th consecutive game overall, sink to 3-12, 1-10 NE-10.
Doherty scored a goal and handed out three assists, while Villareal flipped that to score three goals and dish a helper. Junior Michelle Kudlate (Waltham, Mass.) potted a trio of goals.
Merrimack drew first blood when Hunter McCarthy scored 6:03 into the contest, but Saint Anselm answered just 1:02 later as senior Kaitlyn Stazinski (Pembroke, Mass.) fed Kudlate to even the game.
A Doherty free-position strike put the Hawks up for good at 16:57, with junior Erin Marshall (Woburn, Mass.) scoring an unassisted goal 49 seconds later to make it 3-1. Doherty assisted on goals by Villareal and fellow senior Marissa Daly (Marshfield, Mass.), which were sandwiched around a Kelly Metzger score, to open up a 5-2 advantage with 10:33 remaining in the opening half.
McCarthy closed the first-half scoring with a pair of goals, however, including the second with 1:03 to go, to slice Merrimack's halftime deficit to 5-4.
Saint Anselm answered in a big way in the second half as Daly kicked off the scoring 2:36 in to grab a two-goal cushion. Kudlate and Villareal followed with unassisted tallies 3:35 apart to stretch the lead to 8-4 with 14:02 left.
Kudlate's free-position goal at 11:40 made it a five-goal game and then Marshall and Villareal scored 16 seconds apart to make it 11-4. Junior Katie McKenna (Danvers, Mass.) potted a free-position goal at 3:40 and freshman Emma Palumbo (Sudbury, Mass.) finished off the scoring with 37 seconds left after receiving a feed from Villareal.
Senior goalkeeper Allee Ramzi (Cumberland, R.I.) made three saves to win her third straight decision, while Alexa Petzold turned away seven shots for Merrimack.
Saint Anselm outshot Merrimack, 24-8, including 15-4 in the second half, and held a 12-7 advantage in draw controls, including 8-1 in the second stanza. The Hawks were 3-for-6 on free-position shots, while the Warriors did not have an attempt.
The Hawks return to action Wednesday, April 22 at 4 p.m. when they play host to seventh-ranked Stonehill 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.
