Box Score
MANCHESTER, N.H. – The Saint Anselm College men's lacrosse team picked up its first win of the 2016 season with a 20-3 victory over visiting Dominican College on Saturday afternoon at Grappone Stadium in Manchester, N.H.
The Hawks (1-0) held a 47-35 advantage in shots over the Chargers (1-1), scoring eight goals in the opening quarter and never looking back. Saint Anselm also grabbed 39 groundballs compared to 29 for Dominican, while committing only 25 turnovers to 30 for the visitors.
James Olsen (Westford, Vt.) scored five goals and Patrick Sweeney (North Andover, Mass.) added a hat-trick to lead the Hawks. Alex Pacitti (Foxboro, Mass.), Matt Johnson (Watertown, Mass.), and Mark Vitello (Weymouth, Mass.) each scored two goals apiece, with Vitello also adding a pair of assists. Tony Busconi (Watertown, Mass.) had a five-point day with a goal and four helpers, with Ben Warren (Georgetown, Mass.), Ryan Hesseltine (Westford, Mass.), Dylan Ryan (Framingham, Mas.s), Oliver Ouellet (Salem, N.H.), and Xavier Quinn (Rye, N.H.) also picking up tallies.
Lucas DeAngelo (Byfield, Mass.) made 10 saves in his first victory of the year, while James O'Neill (East Walpole, Mass.) stopped four shots in the final quarter to close out the game.
Conor Reeves, Sean Driscoll, and David Arent scored the goals for Dominican, with Cristopher Polanco, Kevin Mayer, and Blake Israel picking up assists. Carlos Villaman made four saves in setback, while Joseph Fabiilli made five stops and Matthew Sandelier had a pair of saves.
The Hawks scored the first eight goals of the game to take a commanding lead at the end of one period. Mark Vitello opened the scoring before Patrick Sweeney entered the scoring column nearly eight minutes later. Ouelett tallied only 13 seconds later to make it a 3-0 lead, and James Olsen scored what turned out to be the game-winner with 4:46 remaining in the first quarter.
Dominican scored the first two goals of the second quarter with Driscoll scoring on the man advantage for the first tally. David Arent followed with a goal, but Vitello and Busconi made it a 10-2 game with back-to-back goals. Conor Reeves rounded out the scoring for the Chargers with a goal near the end of the half, but Olsen and Warren scored in the final 30 seconds of the period to take a 12-3 lead into the break.
The Hawks would add four goals apiece in the third and fourth quarter to give the game its final score of 20-3.
Defensively, Jake Stokes (Beverly, Mass.) and Chris McCormack (Ipswich, Mass.) led the Hawks with five groundballs each, and McCormack won 11-of-22 face-offs. Derrick LaBranche (Bow, N.H.) added three groundballs and three caused turnovers.
Saint Anselm returns to action on Saturday, March 12, when the Hawks travel to Post University for a non-league game scheduled for 2:00 p.m.
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