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PREVIEW: NE10 Divisional Semifinals – Franklin Pierce at No. 20 Saint Anselm

5/3/2021 10:00:00 AM

MANCHESTER, N.H. – The nationally-ranked Saint Anselm College women's lacrosse team will start a new chapter of their 2021 schedule on Monday, May 3 as the squad hosts Franklin Pierce University in the Divisional Semifinals of the Northeast-10 Conference postseason.

Saint Anselm comes into play as the 20th-ranked team in Division II, according to the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA). Saint Anselm heads into Monday's matchup with a 7-2 overall record and a 6-2 mark against conference opponents. The Hawks will take on a Franklin Pierce group that defeated Saint Michael's in the NE10 First Round - the win for the Ravens was the program's first in the NE10 postseason.

The winner of Monday's game will earn a spot in the NE10 Divisional final to be played on Thursday, May 6 at the higher seed. The NE10 Championship is scheduled for Sunday, May 9 and will be hosted by the higher remaining seed.

Live Statistics and Live Video will be available on the Saint Anselm athletics website. Saint Anselm students, faculty, staff, and members of the Monastery are permitted to attend Hawks sporting events on campus. All other spectators are prohibited from attending athletics contests on the Hilltop. For the complete Spectator Policy, click here.

SCOUTING SAINT ANSELM
  • The Hawks qualified for the NE10 postseason for the eighth time in program history and will host one of four NE10 Divisional Semifinals on Monday, May 3 at 7 p.m. Saint Anselm, the second seed, earned a bye into the Divisional Semifinals after logging a 6-2 record versus league foes on the season.
  • In the Hawks most recent appearance in a game environment, the Hawks took down Stonehill College, 17-7, in the team's regular-season finale. Led by freshman Jess Sullivan (Wrentham, Mass.), she was responsible for a career-high five assists while also adding a goal to total six points.
  • As a defense, the Hawks own the country's 18th-best scoring defense, conceding an 8.00 goals-against average. Saint Anselm ranks ninth in NCAA Division II in caused turnovers per game (11.78), and 28th in ground balls per game (20.00).
  • Junior McKenzie Robinson (Mont Vernon, N.H.) leads the team in caused turnovers per game with an average of 1.44, ranking inside the top 90 in the nation and 12th in the NE10. Robinson also posted a career-high seven draw controls in the win over Stonehill on Apr. 24.
  • Along with the other Hawks defenders, junior goalkeeper Grace Young (Merrimack, N.H.) has a .526 save percentage that ranks in the top 10 of the nation. She stopped nine shots in her last appearance, yielding seven goals and earning the seventh win of her season. Helping Young out on defense is senior Caroline Guzzardi (Boxborough, Mass.) who picked up a team-high five ground balls, a season-high mark, in the win over Stonehill.
  • On the offensive side, senior Annie Richards (Reading, Mass.) has averaged 3.22 assists per game throughout nine games, ranking eighth in the Division II and first in the NE10. Her 29 total assists sit atop the NE10 rankings in that category.
  • So far in 2021, the Hawks have outscored opponents, 120-74, and have fired 75 more shots than their competition. Saint Anselm is 154-for-179 on clear attempts (86.0%).
  • Junior Jenna Balboni (Billerica, Mass.) will be in the Hawks attack plans as she has fired an average of 6.78 shots per game, ranking fifth best in the NE10. Balboni finished the regular season with a team-leading 22 goals on two assists for 24 points (22-3=24) - she also leads the team in goals per game (2.41).
  • The Hawks enter play with five student-athletes with 20 or more points on the season, including 25 from senior Kelsey Czarnota (Wakefield, Mass.) after scoring 21 goals and four assists (21-4=25). Saint Anselm also is coming off its highest mark in the season on shots on goal with 29 against Stonehill on Apr. 24.
  • In six seasons on the Hilltop, Head Coach Meghan Smith '12 has led the Hawks to 39 victories, 28 of those coming within the highly-competitive NE10. Smith and the Hawks have only lost two games since the 2019 season as the 2020 campaign was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • As a team in 2021, the Hawks have reached double-digit goals in eight of their nine games, including a season-high 19 against Southern New Hampshire on Mar. 17 and Apr. 25. In their last affair with the Skyhawks, Saint Anselm recorded its highest amount of draw controls with 20 since Mar. 5, 2019 when the Hawks took down Post, 23-4.
SCOUTING FRANKLIN PIERCE
  • The Ravens won their first-ever NE10 postseason game on Friday, Apr. 30, hosting Saint Michael's and posting a 15-7 victory. Franklin Pierce is heading to the Hilltop with a two-game winning streak, claiming wins over nationally-ranked Assumption in the regular-season finale, 11-9, and the Purple Knights on Friday.
  • The Ravens used a seven-goal afternoon from Savannah Ernst who has led Franklin Pierce in the goal department over the season, totaling 53 points (45-8=53) on 45 goals and eight assists. Her 45 goals and 53 points ranks second in the entire NE10, behind Pace's Carlyn Mucci in both categories. The Hawks defense will be tested on Monday as Ernst has netted five or more goals in the past four straight contests, including two with seven tallies. She also ranks fourth in all of Division II in goals per game with a 4.75 mark while sitting in shots on goal per game with 7.12
  • Three other Ravens student-athletes have totaled 20 or more points over nine games played with all of them scoring 18 or more goals.
  • Offensively, as a team, the Ravens are narrowly outscoring their opponents by a 127-112 margin, averaging 14.11 goals per game.
  • Head Coach Caitlin Sweeney has switched playing time in net as Erin Blake and Casey Butera both have seen action. Over 255 minutes played, Butera has a team-low 8.72 goals-against average and she has started the past three contests. She recorded 16 saves against Assumption on Apr. 28.
  • Butera has allowed the second-fewest goals past her in the conference, surrendering only 37 goals along with her teammate Blake right behind her in third with 51.
ALL-TIME vs. FRANKLIN PIERCE
  • Saint Anselm leads the all-time series against Franklin Pierce by a 16-4 margin. The Hawks carry a four-game winning streak over the Ravens into play on Monday and have won eight of 10 matchups against Franklin Pierce.
  • Monday's matchup is the first time in 2021 that each team will see each other in action as both regular season games were postponed.
  • In the 20 game all-time series, the Hawks are averaging 15.4 goals per game. At Grappone Stadium, the Hawks are 9-1 against the Ravens since the program's initiation.
ALL-TIME in NE10 POSTSEASON
  • The Hawks are 1-8 all-time in the NE10 postseason and most recently made the NE10 Championship in 2018.
  • Saint Anselm has only once gotten past the Quarterfinals round in their eight appearances, dating back to the 2014 season when they defeated Bentley, 17-10, and then lost in narrow fashion, 15-14, to New Haven.
  • The Ravens have only qualified for the NE10 Championship four times in their program history (2003, 2009, 2017, 2021). The Ravens fell in each of those contests before the 2021 campaign, most recently falling to top-seeded Le Moyne, 13-1, in 2017.
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