MANCHESTER, N.H. – The five-member senior class of the Saint Anselm College men's lacrosse team made the most of its final night at Grappone Stadium, accounting for nine of the 15 goals scored and nine of the 10 assists granted in the Hawks' 15-8 Northeast-10 Conference victory over American International College Saturday night.
Senior Charles Geraghty (Norwich, Vt.) posted a career night with four goals and one assist—eclipsing his previous high of three goals scored in the season opener at Molloy back in February. Senior Geoff Kennedy (Gloucester, Mass.) racked up a team-high seven points on the evening with a pair of goals and a career-high five assists on the evening. Classmates James Peters (Medway, Mass.) added two goals and two assists and Andy Budz (Williamstown, Mass.) tallied a goal and an assist, while senior defenseman Edward Mockus (Branford, Conn.) held the AIC offense in check for a very productive senior night for the Class of 2015.
The win improves Saint Anselm to 2-11 overall and 2-9 in the Northeast-10 Conference, where they finish in 10th place above crosstown rival Southern New Hampshire University and American International. The Yellow Jackets fell to 2-13 overall and 0-11 in league play with Saturday's loss.
After some heartbreaking defeats over the closing weeks of the season, Saint Anselm finally molded its consistent statistical advantage over opponents into a win on the scoreboard. The Hawks outshot AIC a whopping 53-23 overall and 33-11 in on-goal attempts. Saint Anselm also held a 34-15 groundball advantage while sophomore Chris McCormack (Ipswitch, Mass.) was once again dominant in faceoffs, going 19-for-25 Saturday night.
Junior goalkeeper James O'Neill (East Walpole, Mass.) appeared in net for the first half and recorded a save, while freshman Lucas DeAngelo (Byfield, Mass.) came on in relief in the second half, adding two more stops. But the Hawks held possession on the offensive side of the field by a wide margin, as Yellow Jacket goalkeeper Perry Booker tallied a game-high 18 shots.
Saint Anselm got on the board early in the game, as Peters scored his 10th of the season just 51 seconds after the starting scrum. After a long 10-minute scoring hiatus, the Hawks made it 2-0 with a goal by sophomore Mark Vitello (Weymouth, Mass.), then took a 3-1 lead into the first quarter break with a Dylan Ryan (Framingham, Mass.) goal—the third of his career.
AIC kept it close through the middle half, tying the game at 3-3 early in the second quarter and again at 7-7 at the 7:06 mark of the third quarter. However, the Hawks responded with eight straight goals—four of which coming over a three-minute, 30-second span in the fourth quarter as Saint Anselm surged to their second win of the year in thrilling fashion.
Saturday was the final game of the 2015 campaign for the men's lacrosse squad as the senior class compiled a 21-37 overall record and a 17-26 mark in league play in its four years on the Hilltop.
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.
