MANCHESTER, N.H. – Following a layoff of over 378 days, the nationally-ranked Saint Anselm College women's lacrosse team defeated cross-town rival Southern New Hampshire University, 19-5, in the season opener for both teams on Wednesday afternoon at Grappone Stadium.

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The Hawks, who are ranked 18th in the nation by the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA), improve to 1-0 on the early season. The Penmen fall to 0-1.

The Saint Anselm victory was claimed by the largest margin in program history - the 14-goal margin bested the previous high mark of 12 goals, set in 2018 with a 19-7 victory. On Wednesday, the Hawks played their first home game since Saturday, Apr. 27, 2019 against No. 16 New Haven.

Senior Kelsey Czarnota (Wakefield, Mass.) led the team with a career-high five goals and sophomore Lexi Palmisano (Woburn, Mass.) and freshman Jess Sullivan (Wrentham, Mass.) each scored three goals. Senior Annie Richards (Reading, Mass.) totaled a team-high three assists and a goal. In her first collegiate game, freshman Alison Ferullo (North Andover, Mass.) recorded two goals with junior captain Jenna Balboni (Billerica, Mass.) doing the same. Junior goalkeeper Grace Young (Merrimack, N.H.) earned the win, stopping nine shots while allowing five goals past her.

Saint Anselm set the pace early in the opening 15 minutes of action, scoring seven consecutive goals. In that span, Sullivan recorded her hat trick, logging the first goals of her career, before SNHU's Alexis DeLucia slowed the momentum with her team's first tally shortly thereafter. Balboni added herself to the scoring mix at 10:18 of the first period, followed by the Hawks final goal of the first half from the stick of Czarnota.

Saint Anselm earned a 9-1 lead with six minutes remaining in the opening stanza, but the Penmen finished the half with their own goal at 1:42. The Hawks went into the break with a 9-2 advantage, claiming the shots advantage, 28-9.

In the first 10 minutes of the second half, Czarnota led the charge by scoring three goals along with Richards, Ferullo, and Palmisano. That offensive push extended the Hawks edge to 15-2. Sophomore Meghan Cotraro (Beverly, Mass.) scored her first season tally at 19:43, increasing the lead to 16-2.

Southern New Hampshire responded with back-to-back scores, trimming the margin to 16-4 with 14:55 left on the clock. The Hawks and Penmen both buried one before the 10-minute mark, giving the Hawks a 17-5 lead. Junior Sheila Gadbois (Southborough, Mass.) secured the Hawks victory with a career-high two goals in the last few minutes of the game.

The Hawks return to Grappone Stadium for their next contest as they host Assumption on Wednesday, Mar. 24 at 7 p.m.