RINDGE, N.H. – The nationally-ranked Saint Anselm College men's lacrosse team defeated Franklin Pierce University, 13-6, on Wednesday afternoon at Sodexo Field.

The Hawks, the No. 17-ranked team in all of Division II according to the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA), kept the wins coming as they improved to 3-0 on the season while remaining perfect against Northeast-10 Conference opponents. The Ravens drop to 0-3. The Hawks will return to Grappone Stadium for a matchup against Saint Michael's College on Saturday, Apr. 3 at 7 p.m.

The youth of the Hawks offense stepped up in Wednesday's victory over the Ravens. Sophomore Jack Andrews (Cumberland, R.I.) posted a team-high four points in the game, all coming off goals. He also picked up four ground balls and caused one turnover. In the 2021 season, Andrews has scored four goals each in every contest that he has played. One point shy of his teammate, freshman Noah Larsen (Northborough, Mass.) recorded two goals and one assist in the win. His brother and classmate, Nick Larsen (Northborough, Mass.), followed him with a three-point performance, scoring one goal and adding two helpers.

Sophomore Andrew Bonavita (Longmeadow, Mass.) and sophomore Craig Yannone (Lynnfield, Mass.) both earned a team-high six ground balls. In net, senior CJ Hart (Reading, Mass.) claimed his third win of the season, stopping six shots and yielding just five goals over 58 minutes. Sophomore Will Davis (Franklin Mass.) finished in net, playing the final two minutes of the game, recording one save.

The Hawks started the contest netting four goals in the opening stanza and never looking back after that point. The Ravens responded at the 11:40 mark of the second quarter with a goal of their own.

Led by Andrews' two goals, the sophomore earned his third career hat trick and helped Saint Anselm extend its lead to a seven-goal margin heading into halftime.

Franklin Pierce narrowed the deficit in the opening eight minutes of the second half, thanks to two goals each by Owen McCormack and Josh Dorr. Scoring back-to-back tallies, Noah Larsen extended the Hawks lead to 10-3 with 1:38 left on the third-quarter clock, earning Saint Anselm its sixth straight game with double-digit goals, dating back to the start of the 2020 season.

Sophomore Jack Robinson (Wilbraham, Mass.) squeaked out a last-second goal to end the third quarter with an 11-3 advantage for the Hawks with eight seconds remaining.

Saint Anselm and Franklin Pierce traded scores in the fourth quarter with the Ravens netting three goals and the Hawks earning two scores. In that span, Andrews put home a man-up goal in the process at 7:02 of the final stanza. Sophomore Jake Athanas (Manchester-by-the-Sea, Mass.) picked up the Hawks' final tally with 1:56 left in the contest.

As a team, the Hawks held statistical advantages in shots, 59-28, while almost doubling the amount of Franklin Pierce ground balls with a 41-21 difference. Yannone also led the Hawks with 15 face-off wins out of his 17 chances.

Senior co-captain Matt Ward (Shrewsbury, Mass.) kept his active points scoring streak, notching 37 goals and seven assists for 44 points (37-7=44) since Apr. 2, 2019 against Merrimack. He posted one goal in the Hawks win on Wednesday.