MANCHESTER, N.H. – Senior Annie Richards (Reading, Mass.) of the nationally-ranked Saint Anselm College women's lacrosse team broke the single-game assists record in her team's 12-4 victory over American International College on Saturday afternoon at Grappone Stadium.

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With eight helpers, Richards surpassed the previous record holder, Meaghan Sheehy '18, who recorded seven assists at American International on Mar. 23, 2018. Richards' previous career-high was six in the 23-4 triumph at Post on Mar. 9, 2019. On Saturday, Richards led the team with eight points, posting all of the assists by a Hawks student-athlete. So far in her career, Richards has posted 45 assists, tying Kaitlyn Stazinski '15 for eighth on the all-time assists list. She also is one assist away from tying her 2020 total.

The Hawks have now recorded double-digit goals in the past six straight games dating back to the 2020 season. With Saturday's win, the Hawks improve to 2-0 on the season while the Yellow Jackets fall to 1-2. Due to the Northeast-10 Conference breaking up the standings this year, this contest was deemed a non-conference game. The Hawks look to keep the momentum going as they host Assumption on Wednesday, Mar. 24 at 7 p.m.

Freshman Alison Ferullo (North Andover, Mass.) powered the Hawks offense with a career-high five goals. Senior Caroline Villareal (Portsmouth, R.I.) followed with two goals of her own, earning her first points of the 2021 season. Junior goalkeeper Grace Young (Merrimack, N.H.) earned the win in net, stopping six shots and partnering with a stout Hawks defense to allow just four goals in the full 60 minutes.

Junior captain Jenna Balboni (Billerica, Mass.) kept her points streak going as she scored one goal in the contest, improving the streak to eight games. Freshman Erin Doyle (Weymouth, Mass.) also earned her first collegiate goal in the win while senior Sarah Morey (Natick, Mass.) posted her first tally of the season.

The Yellow Jackets took control at the start of the first half, leading 3-1. Ferullo fired in her first score of the day just two minutes into the contest. She also narrowed the deficit to a one-goal margin with an extra-player tally at 15:21. Senior Kelsey Czarnota (Wakefield, Mass.) tied the game at three with four minutes remaining until halftime.

In the second half, the Hawks defense would excel and only allow one goal to help the Hawks claim victory. Villareal began the scoring in the second stanza with a tally at 23:00, giving the Hawks the lead for good at 4-3. The Hawks offense would pick up the second half pace as they went on a 6-0 run in the next eight minutes to take a 10-3 advantage. Ferullo recorded three scores in that span.

AIC's Kaitlyn Morris ended the Hawks scoring run with a goal at 12:16. In the last eight minutes of the game, Balboni and Morey would find the back of the net and help secure the Hawks victory.

As a team, the Hawks completed all of their clear attempts, going 22-for-22. Saint Anselm also won the shots advantage, 34-17. The Yellow Jackets hauled in 11 of the game's 18 draw controls, holding the edge in that statistic.