Box Score

MANCHESTER, N.H. – The Saint Anselm College men's lacrosse team defeated visiting Franklin Pierce University, 11-9, on Tuesday afternoon in a Northeast-10 Conference matchup at Grappone Stadium in Manchester, N.H.

The Hawks (5-0, 3-0 NE-10) built an 11-2 lead with 3:46 to play in the third quarter and had to fend off a furious comeback attempt from the Ravens (3-3, 2-2 NE-10), as Franklin Pierce scored seven-straight goals to end the game, but the Hawk defense did just enough to hang on for the victory.

Mark Vitello (Weymouth, Mass.) recorded a hat-trick while James Olsen (Westford, Vt.) and Alex Pacitti (Foxboro, Mass.) each scored two goals apiece to fuel the Saint Anselm attack. Ben Warren (Georgetown, Mass.) and Todd Billetter (Derry, N.H.) had a goal and an assist apiece, with Dylan Ryan (Framingham, Mass.) and Patrick Sweeney (North Andover, Mass.) also adding tallies.

Lucas DeAngelo (Byfield, Mass.) improved to 5-0 this season while making 13 saves in the victory. Jake Stokes (Beverly, Mass.) led the defense with five groundballs, with Ryan Sullivan (Canton, Mass.) causing a game-high three turnovers.

Franklin Pierce was led by three goals and an assist from Jack Carney. Jake Castorf had a six point day with two goals and four assists, with Luke Tracy also adding a pair of goals. Connor Wacksman suffered the setback while making 11 saves.

Saint Anselm jumped out to a 5-0 lead after the first period as Vitello scored twice and Pacitti, Billetter and Sweeney all scored in the opening stanza. The Hawks extended their lead to 8-0 as Pacitti, Ryan, and Olsen scored three-straight times to open the second quarter, but Franklin Pierce took a little momentum into the half as Carney recorded the first goal of the game for the Ravens and Sean Delea scored on the man-advantage to make it an 8-2 game at the intermission.

Vitello opened the scoring in the third period with his third goal of the game, while Ben Warren made it a 10-2 game with 5:34 remaining off a feed from Billetter. James Olsen scored what would prove to be the final goal of the game for the Hawks with 3:46 to play in the third quarter to make it an 11-2 lead.

Franklin Pierce started their comeback with one second to play in the third quarter as Luke Tracy tucked a shot over the shoulder of DeAngelo and under the crossbar to make it an 11-3 game. Jake Castorf scored back-to-back goals less than a minute apart to pull within 11-5, and Casey Burnett scored with 12:58 to play in regulation as the Ravens cut the deficit to just 11-6.

Jack Carney scored less than a minute later as the Ravens made it an 11-7 game, and Luke Tracy found the back of the net off a feed from Castorf to get Franklin Pierce to within three goals. Carney's second tally of the game with 4:29 to play cut the deficit to only 11-9 with all the momentum pointed towards Franklin Pierce.

The Ravens won the ensuing face-off, but came away empty-handed as a Saint Anselm defender made it to the end line to win possession back for the Hawks following a shot. The following Saint Anselm clear attempt was good and the Hawks were able to work some clock before a turnover with less than two minutes to play gave the Ravens possession back.

Headed into the final minute of play, a pass from behind the net from Carney caromed off a Saint Anselm helmet and out to midfield where Ryan Sullivan scooped up the groundball and took possession for the Hawks allowing them to call timeout with 37 seconds to play. The Hawks had run just enough clock off to squash the comeback attempt and hang on for the 11-9 victory.

Saint Anselm held a slight 41-40 edge in shots for the game while also holding a 31-29 advantage in groundballs. The Hawks committed 18 turnovers to 21 for Franklin Pierce, while going 16-for-18 on clears compared to a 16-for-23 showing from the Ravens. Franklin Pierce did control the face-off circle however, winning 14-of-22 draws on the day.

The Hawks turn their attention to Saturday's NE-10 matchup with Pace University scheduled for 12:00 p.m. Both teams received votes in the most recent USILA Poll released on Monday.

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