MANCHESTER, N.H. – The Saint Anselm College men's lacrosse team has battled through one of the toughest schedules in the country to start the season, playing four of its first eight games against top-ranked teams in all of Division II. No. 5 Merrimack College was the latest matchup on the Hawks' slate Tuesday night, and the road Warriors surged to a 20-6 win in the Hawks' return to Grappone Stadium.
For Saint Anselm, it was the fourth loss this season to a top-five team ranked in the U.S. Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association Coaches' Poll as the Hawks drop to 1-7 overall and 1-5 in the Northeast-10 Conference. Merrimack, meanwhile, improves to 9-1 overall and 7-1 in league play.
Sophomore Mark Vitello (Weymouth, Mass.) recorded two goals on six shots, while junior Jake Stokes (Beverly, Mass.) added a goal and an assist in the loss. Senior Charles Geraghty (Norwich, Vt.), junior Ben Warren (Georgetown, Mass.) and sophomore James Olsen (Westford, Vt.) each notched a goal for Saint Anselm on the afternoon and freshman Aaron Palys (Bedford, N.H.) picked up his first collegiate point, coming as an assist on Stokes' second-quarter score.
Despite the rather lopsided final, the Hawks matched the Warriors in several aspects of Tuesday's game. Saint Anselm sophomore Chris McCormack (Ipswitch, Mass.) held a slight edge on the faceoff 'x', going 17-for-30 on the day. The Hawks also went 2-for-7 on man-up situations, went a perfect 10-for-10 on clear attempts and tied the Warriors with 41 shots and 20 turnovers apiece.
In the end, Merrimack's ability to create its own shots in the offensive zone proved the major difference. The Warriors put 27 attempts on target, compared to just 19 for the host Hawks.
Every goalkeeper in uniform saw action Tuesday afternoon as the two teams combined to make four goalie switches. Saint Anselm junior James O'Neill (East Walpole, Mass.) tallied a game-high five saves on 18 shots, while freshman Lucas DeAngelo (Byfield, Mass.) stopped a pair of nine Warrior shots in the second half. Merrimack starter Dom Madonna improved to 9-0 on the season with two saves, contributing to the team's 13 saves on 19 Hawk attempts.
Merrimack set the tone early with a goal just over a minute into the game, but Warren responded with an unassisted score to level the game at 1-1. The Warriors would then take complete control on the scoreboard, racking up nine straight to eventually take a 13-2 lead into halftime.
The Hawks will return to the turf Saturday for another NE-10 showdown, hosting the College of Saint Rose. As the Grappone turf continues to struggle through some spring thawing, precise game time and location for the matchup will be released later this week.
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