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Men's Lacrosse group shot
Ed Mailliard

PREVIEW: NCAA Quarterfinals - No. 8 Saint Anselm vs. No. 1 Le Moyne

5/15/2021 9:15:00 PM

ERIE, Pa. – Saint Anselm College, ranked No. 8 in NCAA Division II by the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association, will take on Le Moyne College, the top-ranked program in the country, in NCAA Division II Men's Lacrosse Championship action on Sunday, May 16 at 1 p.m. The Quarterfinals game will be played on the campus of Mercyhurst University.

The Hawks, making their first appearance in the NCAA postseason, outlasted the Griffins from Seton Hill University on Friday in First Round action by a 12-11 score in overtime.

Saint Anselm carries a record of 13-1 into play on Sunday, with its lone loss coming to Le Moyne in the Northeast-10 Conference Championship game on Saturday, May 8. The Dolphins have not played since that Saturday victory in Manchester, N.H., earning a first-round bye as the top seed in the North Region.

Freshman Noah Larsen (Northborough, Mass.) capped off the hat trick against No. 6-ranked Seton Hill on Friday with a game-winning overtime goal just 2:41 into the overtime period. Saint Anselm enjoyed a 62-to-46 advantage in shots against the Griffins, firing 20 of the game's final 30 shots to complete the three-goal comeback. 

The Hawks also won the ground ball battle against Seton Hill, reeling in 39 on the afternoon while limiting the Griffins to only 27 on the afternoon. Saint Anselm ranked second in NCAA Division II with 42.69 ground balls per game entering play this week.

Head Coach Michael Sciamanna earned the 50th victory at the helm of the Saint Anselm men's lacrosse team. Since joining the Hawks prior to the 2016 season, Sciamanna has racked up 50 wins against just 25 defeats (.667).

LAST TIME OUT vs. SETON HILL (MAY 14)
  • Saint Anselm scored six of the game's final eight goals and buried an overtime game-winning tally to down Seton Hill University by a 12-11 score in the First Round of the NCAA Division II Men's Lacrosse Championship on Friday.
  • Noah Larsen capped off the hat trick with a game-winning overtime goal just 2:41 into the overtime period. Less than a minute after a caused turnover by senior Thomas Mapstone (Andover, Mass.), sophomore Jack Andrews (Cumberland, R.I.) maintained Saint Anselm possession by scooping up a shot that was saved, securing the clutch ground ball.
  • Later in the possession, Larsen circled around the back of the net and fired a shot on frame. Seton Hill backstop Kevin Mo appeared to get a stick on the ball, but it found its way into the back of the net for the game-winning tally. Larsen capped off the day with a career-high three goals and two assists for a team-leading five points (3-2=5).
  • To force overtime, Saint Anselm had to overcome a three-goal deficit with 4:59 to go in the third quarter. The Hawks scored four goals in a row between 4:08 of the third and 7:26 of the fourth quarter, capturing a 10-9 lead as senior Ryan Melley (Reading, Mass.) scored his 13th goal of the season.
  • Seton Hill responded in the game's final two minutes, scoring twice by sandwiching a goal from senior Matt Ward (Shrewsbury, Mass.) to force overtime. Despite the two Griffins goals in the final 15 minutes of regulation, the Hawks outshot Seton Hill by a 17-to-8 margin and appeared to have momentum on their side entering the overtime period.
  • Saint Anselm backstop CJ Hart (Reading, Mass.) made a nice save in overtime, preserving the game for the Hawks by stopping Seton Hill's Blake Profio just 50 seconds into the period. Senior Will Palmer (Concord, Mass.) was also instrumental in setting up Larsen's overtime winner, successfully picking up the ground ball and completing the clearance attempt.
  • Sophomore Andrew Bonavita (Longmeadow, Mass.) matched a season-high mark with six ground balls and Mapstone caused a team-leading three turnovers as the Hawks defense kept their team in the game. Sophomore Ryan Slattery (North Andover, Mass.) also helped the defensive cause with two caused turnovers for Saint Anselm.
  • Hart earned his 13th victory of the season, making nine saves on 21 shots. 
LAST TIME OUT vs. LE MOYNE (MAY 8)
  • In the 9-4 loss to Le Moyne in the NE10 Championship game, Saint Anselm opened up a 3-1 lead in the game's first 27 minutes, using markers from Andrews, Ward and Griffin Shoemaker (Shirley, Mass.), but Le Moyne rallied back with five consecutive goals to stun the hosts heading into the fourth quarter.
  • The Hawks cut their deficit to 6-4 just minutes into the final quarter, thanks to a goal from Noah Larsen, but the Dolphins scored three unanswered goals en route to the win.
  • Le Moyne outshot Saint Anselm by a 43-to-32 margin and ultimately claimed the win with a stout defense that produced 20 turnovers, including 11 in the second half alone. Saint Anselm also went 0-for-5 with the extra man and only reeled in five of the second half's 21 ground balls.
  • Hart, the winner of NE10 Goalkeeper of the Year honors in late April, set a career-high mark with 21 saves against Le Moyne. Hart became the first Hawks netminder since Jonathon O'Reilly '13 in 2013 to make 20 or more saves in a game. 
HAWKS NOTABLES
  • A wildly-popular club sport for many years at Saint Anselm, the Hawks debuted as a varsity program in 1994 and played their games on Cofran Field, the predecessor to modern-day Melucci Field, the home of Saint Anselm men's and women's soccer.
  • The program played on grass at home, including select games on the grass playing field at Grappone Stadium until the 2012 campaign, moving full-time to Grappone Stadium and its brand-new FieldTurf surface.
  • With a postseason victory over Pace last Wednesday, Saint Anselm set a program record with its 12 victory of the year - since the win against Pace, the Hawks posted an NCAA First Round victory over Seton Hill to up the record for wins to 13. Against Pace, the Hawks also extended their program-record winning streak to 15 games, scoring six fourth-quarter goals to topple the Setters, who see their season come to a close at 6-7.
  • Saint Anselm would eventually lose to No. 1-ranked Le Moyne in the NE10 Championship fixture last Saturday at Grappone Stadium. The Hawks were making their second NE10 title game appearance in the prior three championships held (2018, 2021).
  • Saint Anselm entered the NCAA Championships ranks first in NCAA Division II in scoring defense (5.77) and was second in ground balls (555), ground balls per game (42.69), scoring margin (11.31) through the NE10 Championship. Before the team's First Round win over Seton Hill, the Hawks were ranked fourth nationally with 135 assists, 27.46 points per game and a 92.3% winning percentage (12-1).
  • Hart, who earned a spot on the NE10 All-Championship Team with his 21-save performance against the nation's top team, entered the NCAA Championship as the national leader in goals-against average (5.60) and save percentage (0.657). Hart made 39 saves, posted a goals-against average of 8.00 and a save percentage of .639 throughout the three-game NE10 championship.
  • Ward, the other Saint Anselm representative on the All-Tournament Team, tallied seven goals and four assists for 11 points (7-4=11) across the three-game postseason. The First Team All-Conference selection extended his goal scoring streak to 19 games with a goal against Seton Hill, giving him 42 on the season. He is just the fifth student-athlete in team history to have scored 40 or more goals in a season.
  • Ward's 42 goals on the season stands as the sixth-most by a Hawks student-athlete in team history. With just two goals against Le Moyne on Sunday, Ward would jump to third all-time in team annals behind all-time leader Larry DeFranco '03 and his 52 goals scored in 2001.
  • Andrews, who scored against Le Moyne in the NE10 Championship tilt, was named the NE10 Co-Rookie of the Year award winner in late April. On the season, he has racked up 34 goals with 10 assists for 44 points (34-10=44) and is riding a five-game goal-scoring streak entering Sunday's showdown with Le Moyne, posting eight goals and six assists for 14 points (8-6=14) in that span.
  • Andrews is tied with Ryan Mee '14 for the single-season record for man-up goals (eight), which Mee accomplished in 2013.
  • Sophomore Craig Yannone (Lynnfield, Mass.), a Third Team All-NE10 pick as a face-off specialist, won two-thirds of the game's face-offs against Le Moyne in the NE10 Championship. On the season, he has won 180-of-300 face-offs for a single-season record .600 winning percentage - he entered the NCAA Division II postseason ranked second in the NE10 in winning percentage and 15th nationally in NCAA Division II.
  • Yannone has picked up 86 ground balls in 2021, the fourth-most in a single season. He is averaging 6.31 per contest, falling shy of the single-season record of 7.07 set by Matthew Steele '14 in 2014.
  • Freshman Nick Larsen (Northborough, Mass.) has dished out 28 assists, ranking eighth in single-season team annals. Only one student-athlete in team history, Brian O'Leary '01, has handed out 39 or more helpers - he did so in three consecutive seasons (39, 1998; 42, 1999; 44, 2000 - team record).
  • Collectively, the Hawks have tallied 371 points of offense via 234 goals and 140 assists (234-140=371), the most in program history. Saint Anselm has also set single-season team records for wins (13), points per game (26.71), goals per game (16.71) and goals-against average (6.11).
SCOUTING LE MOYNE
  • The Dolphins have posted an 12-0 record this season and have won 16 games in a row dating back to the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. The team's last loss was to Merrimack in the second game of the NCAA Division II Tournament. Coincidentally, Saint Anselm's 15-game winning streak that was ended by the Dolphins in the NE10 Championship game began after a loss to Merrimack in the NE10 Championship game in 2018.
  • Since the 2000 season, Le Moyne has compiled a dominant 318-37 (.896) overall record. The Dolphins haven't lost three or more games in a campaign since 1999, going 6-8 that year.
  • The Dolphins feature a well-rounded offense with six student-athletes logging 22 points of offense or more. Not one member of the roster has more than 34 points and the balance extends far beyond the starting lineup – 24 student-athletes have at least one goal on the season.
  • Le Moyne outshot the Hawks by a 43-to-32 margin in last Saturday's NE10 Championship fixture, collecting a 9-4 victory over Saint Anselm thanks to five second-half goals. Jake Nelson, the Most Outstanding Player in the NE10 Championship, rattled off four goals and an assist for five points (4-1=5) against the Hawks, firing 11 total shots.
  • The Dolphins were also efficient with their shots, placing 30 on frame while Saint Anselm mustered just 12 shots on goal. The Hawks also committed 20 turnovers, including 11 of those in the second half of play.
  • Senior midfielder Ben McCreary was named to the NE10 All-Tournament Team, as was senior defenseman Nate Arnold. Junior Henry Miller, a defenseman, earned the conference's Elite 24 Award, issued to the student-athlete with the highest grade-point average at the championship site.
  • McCreary ranks sixth on the team with 20 goals and two assists for 22 points (20-2=22) while Arnold has come up with a team-best 21 caused turnovers on defense.
  • Fifth-year attackman Matt Hutchings was named NE10 Player of the Year at the end of April. A fifth-year student-athlete out of Marcellus, N.Y., Hutchings has scored 12 goals with 17 assists for 29 points (12-17=29) in just eight games in 2021, scoring at least five points of offense in five of those eight games - the Hawks were able to neutralize Hutchings in the NE10 Championship as he did not record a point of offense.
  • Junior Kevin Sheehan is one of the most efficient shooters in all of NCAA Division II, posting a shot percentage of .500 to rank ninth in the country and third in the NE10. He has scored 19 goals on 38 shots taken in 2021.
  • The Dolphins employ a goalkeeping tandem as Frank Delia has played in all 10 games with Riley Smith competing in nine of those fixtures. Smith owns a 6-0 record with a .591 save percentage and Delia has won six games, posting a .575 save percentage. Along with sophomore Max Tedesco, Le Moyne has a team goals-against average of 6.66.
  • The Dolphins are coached by Dan Sheehan, the first coach to lead Le Moyne to a national championship. He owns a 330-54 (.859) overall record since joining the Dolphins prior to the 1998 campaign.
ALL-TIME vs. LE MOYNE
  • The Dolphins hold a distinct edge in the all-time series between both teams. Le Moyne has won 26 of the 27 all-time fixtures, but the one loss certainly stands out for Saint Anselm.
  • In the NE10 Semifinals in 2018, the Hawks traveled to Syracuse, N.Y. and handed the No. 1 team in the country, Le Moyne, a 9-8 defeat in overtime. With the win, Saint Anselm went on to play for the first NE10 Championship in program history while Le Moyne fell to 15-1 – the Dolphins were the last undefeated team in NCAA Division II that year.
ALL-TIME, NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP
  • Le Moyne has won five national championships, winning in 2004, 2006, 2007, 2013 and, most recently, in 2016 with a perfect 20-0 record on the year. The Dolphins were the national runner-up in 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2015.
  • The Dolphins own a 17-12 (.586) all-time record in the NCAA Championship and have qualified for 17 NCAA postseasons since the 2002 season.
  • Saint Anselm had never made an appearance in the NCAA Division II postseason prior to this season. By virtue of their overtime victory against Seton Hill on Friday, the Hawks improve to 1-0 on the game's biggest stage.
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