SAINT LEO, Fla. - The Saint Anselm College women's lacrosse team topped nationally-ranked Saint Leo University in its first matchup of the year, breezing past the Lions 13-3 on Sunday afternoon at the University Turf.
Box Score
Saint Anselm moves to 1-0 on the year while Saint Leo, the 16th-ranked program in NCAA Division II, falls to 3-3. The Hawks, who defeated their first nationally-ranked opponent since Apr. 14, 2018, will next travel to Embry-Riddle on Tuesday, Mar. 3 for a 5 p.m. non-conference matchup.
Pacing the Hawks in scoring was sophomore Jenna Balboni (Billerica, Mass), who found the back of the net five times to match a career-high mark. Sophomore Taylor Cobain (Smithfield, R.I.) was one of three Hawks student-athletes to register three or more goals and junior Caroline Villareal (Portsmouth, R.I.) had first multi-goal game in her career, earning herself a hat trick. Junior Annie Richards (Reading, Mass.) posted a team-high five assists on the day.
Sprinting out to a 7-0 lead in the first half, Balboni notched four goals of her own, in addition to two rockets from Cobain and one tally from senior Breda Holland (Londonderry, N.H.). This is the first time since Mar. 10, 2016 against Post that the Hawks held their opponent scoreless in the first half.
Following a penalty on sophomore McKenzie Robinson (Mont Vernon, N.H.) with 10:27 left in the opening half, Cobain led the charge with a free-position goal, converting on the player-down situation and extending the Hawks lead to five. Balboni finished out the opening half with another two tallies.
The Lions finally got on the board early in the second half with a goal from Janee DeLuca in the first minute, and another on a shot from Sam Nolan less than a minute later, making the score 7-2.
A few minutes later, Cobain capped off her hat trick with a shot past Lions goalkeeper Emma Crafton. Balboni notched her fifth goal of the day with 19:12 left in regulation, putting the Hawks up 9-2. Freshman Alexa Palmisano (Woburn, Mass.) scored her first career goal 22 seconds later to help the Hawks push the lead to 10-2.
After the final Lions score of the day with 17:31 remaining, Villareal exploded for three straight goals in a four-minute span to cap the contest. Richards assisted on all three of Villareal's goals and also assisted on two other Hawks goals the season-opener.
Sophomore Grace Young (Merrimack, N.H) recorded a career-high 11 saves in her third career start for the Hawks, posting a .786 save percentage. She also picked up a team-high four ground balls and caused three turnovers in the process. Crafton finished with seven saves for the Lions before Rachel Smythe wrapped up the game with two stops in the last 18 minutes.
The Lions had a slim 25-24 advantage in shots, scooped up 22 ground balls and won nine of the game's 18 draw controls. Palmisano posted a team-high three draw controls.
Photo Courtesy of Bradley Bee
