MANCHESTER, N.H. – The nationally-ranked Saint Anselm College men's lacrosse team hosts Franklin Pierce University this Saturday, Apr. 17 at 1 p.m.

Owners of a 7-0 overall record in 2021, the Hawks have won 10 consecutive games, extending the program record with a convincing 18-3 victory over Saint Michael's on Wednesday, Apr. 14. Franklin Pierce has won three straight, carrying a 3-4 overall record into Saturday's game at Grappone Stadium.

The Hawks will celebrate their 10 senior student-athletes in a brief pre-game ceremony. Saturday's game is the final regular season contest to be played at Grappone Stadium – the Hawks have won 23 of their last 30 games played on the Hilltop.

The No. 14-ranked team in the country (USILA) and the top-ranked team in New England (NEILA) , Saint Anselm is vying for a top seed in the upcoming Northeast-10 Conference postseason. The top five seeded teams earn first-round byes and squads seeded six through 11 will play in the First Round of the Northeast-10 Conference postseason on Wednesday, April 28.

LIVE STATS and LIVE VIDEO of Saturday's regular-season home finale will be available.

SCOUTING SAINT ANSELM

Against Assumption on Saturday, Apr. 10, the Hawks set a program record with their ninth consecutive win. The previous record for consecutive victories, eight, was set from Feb. 27, 2012 to Apr. 10, 2012. Assumption was receiving votes in the national coaches' poll.

Saint Anselm has fired at least 48 shots in each of its seven games this year and has outscored its last three opponents by a combined 88-to-15 margin.

Saint Anselm is one of just four programs in NCAA Division II without a loss, including Le Moyne, Mercy, and Tampa. The Hawks lead the division with a 5.86 scoring defense and a 13.29 scoring margin. The Hawks are second nationally with 44.86 ground balls per game and are third in scoring offense, averaging 19.14 goals per game.

Senior Matt Ward (Shrewsbury, Mass.) owns a 12-game goal scoring streak, logging 33 in that span, and his point-scoring streak is at 18 games. He has scored 49 goals with nine assists for 58 points (49-9=58) since taking the field against Merrimack on Apr. 2, 2019.

A total of 12 student-athletes found their way into the scorebook against Saint Michael's on Wednesday by posting at least one point of offense on the day. Sophomore Jack Robinson (Wilbraham, Mass.) and sophomore Jack Andrews (Cumberland, R.I.) each led the Hawks by recording five points with Andrews totaling four goals. Ward scored three goals in the victory along with assisting on one goal.

Leading Assumption by a 13-0 margin at halftime, Saint Anselm has shutout an opponent in the first half twice in 2021. Versus the Greyhounds, Saint Anselm erupted for 13 first-half goals while a stout Hawks defense kept the Greyhounds to just one shot in the second quarter. The Hawks led Saint Michael's by a 6-1 margin last time out.

Shoemaker saw a 13-game point streak that dated back to Apr. 16, 2019 at Saint Michael's snapped – he had posted 24 goals with 10 assists for 34 points (24-10=34). He did, however, pick up seven ground balls against Saint Michael's on Wednesday, matching a career-high figure.

Andrews has scored at least three goals in each of his seven games this season, racking up 25 total goals and four assists for 29 points (25-4=29). This season, he had exactly four goals in his first three games of the season and since then, he has logged at least three goals and an assist in each of his last four games.

Andrews is tied for the NCAA Division II lead with eight man-up goals. He has, however, done so in the fewest games (seven) among the national leaders and is one of just two non-upperclassmen to achieve such a feat.

Freshman Nick Larsen (Northborough, Mass.) has posted five goals and 15 assists for 20 points (5-15=20) to date while twin brother Noah Larsen (Northborough, Mass.) has chipped in with nine goals and six assists for 15 points (9-6=15).

Senior CJ Hart (Reading, Mass.) owns the nation's top goals against average (5.21). His save percentage of .625 is the third-best figure in the country.

Saint Anselm has posted a 28-12 record since the start of the 2018 season and has made the last four NE10 postseason tournaments. Among active NCAA Division II head coaches, Michael Sciamanna is 15th with a winning percentage of .647 and has won 44 of his 68 career games.

FRANKLIN PIERCE FACTS

Franklin Pierce began the 2021 season with an 0-2 record and fell to 0-3 with a loss to then-No. 17-ranked Saint Anselm earlier this season. The team jumped out to a 2-0 record in the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign, defeating Dominican (N.Y.) and Post in the early goings. In the team's most recent full season of 2019, Franklin Pierce logged a 5-8 overall record.

The Ravens own a 3-4 overall record after rallying from a 9-7 deficit last time out, scoring the game's final three goals for a thrilling 10-9 victory over Assumption on Wednesday. Eric Bua Jr. scored the game-winning goal with 2:28 left in regulation as the long pole defender bounced a shot past the Greyhounds backstop.

Sean Daly leads Franklin Pierce with 25 points, scoring 14 goals with 11 assists. Josh Dorr and Owen McCormack have each posted 17 points of offense with the former scoring 13 goals and the latter logging 11. Robert Colburn has 1.86 caused turnovers per game, the NE10's fifth-best average.

James Heitmiller is 13th in NCAA Division II with a .570 save percentage and his 12.86 saves per game is third in the Northeast-10 and 18th in the country. His 9.80 goals-against average is 17th in the nation.

The Ravens are coached by Rick Senatore, who led the Saint Anselm men's lacrosse program from 2007-09 and posted a record of 22 wins and 22 losses (.500). At Franklin Pierce, Senatore has won 82 games in 11 seasons.

ALL-TIME vs. FRANKLIN PIERCE

The Hawks are 20-3 all-time against Franklin Pierce dating back to the very first meeting on Apr. 9, 1998. Saint Anselm enjoyed a 14-game winning streak against the Ravens to open the all-time series.

Earlier this season, the Hawks logged a 13-6 victory over Franklin Pierce in Rindge, N.H. Andrews posted a team-high four points in the game, all coming off goals. He also picked up four ground balls and caused one turnover. The Hawks started the contest with four goals in the opening stanza and never looked back after that point.