MANCHESTER, N.H. – The nationally-ranked Saint Anselm College men's lacrosse team will play for a Northeast-10 Conference Championship this Saturday, thanks to a 12-10 victory over No. 14-ranked Pace University on Wednesday in the NE10 Semifinals at Grappone Stadium.
Saint Anselm, ranked No. 9 in NCAA Division II, set a program record with its 12 victory of the year. 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.
Head Coach Michael Sciamanna becomes the winningest coach in Saint Anselm history, winning the 49th game of his career (49-24, .671). One of the most consistent programs in the Northeast, Sciamanna inherited a team that posted a 2-11 record in 2015 and had just two postseason wins, all time – he has now led his team to two NE10 title game berths (2018, 2021).
The Hawks will host No. 1-ranked Le Moyne (11-0) on Saturday at 1 p.m. as the Dolphins locked up an NE10 Semifinals victory of their own on Wednesday, downing No. 7 Adelphi by a 14-10 score in a game played in Syracuse, N.Y. The Hawks earned the postseason's overall hosting rights via a tiebreaker with the Dolphins.
Down by as many as three goals in the third quarter, the Hawks scored eight of the game's final 11 markers to capture the thrilling win. With the score locked in at nine with 8:17 to go in regulation time, seniors Matt Ward (Shrewsbury, Mass.), Ryan Richards (Mendon, Mass.) and Griffin Shoemaker (Shirley, Mass.) scored in succession to create a 12-9 lead with 39 seconds left in regulation time.
Ward extended his goal scoring streak to 17 games, scoring two goals to give him exactly 40 on the season – he is just the fifth student-athlete to reach that milestone in a season. Shoemaker and Richards fired home three goals apiece with freshman Nick Larsen (Northborough, Mass.) contributing one goal and two assists. Sophomore Jack Robinson (Wilbraham, Mass.) cashed in with two assists as well.
Sophomore Ryan Slattery (North Andover, Mass.) played a huge part on defense for Saint Anselm, causing a team-best three turnovers and collecting as many ground balls. Sophomore Craig Yannone (Lynnfield, Mass.) won 15-of-25 face-offs on the day, including eight-of-nine in the fourth quarter, to help the Hawks complete the comeback attempt.
The Hawks compiled an early 3-1 lead as Ward, Richards and Shoemaker catapulted Saint Anselm ahead by two. Pace scored six of the game's next seven goals, stunning Saint Anselm with a 7-4 lead with 7:48 to go in the third quarter. The Setters took advantage of 11 turnovers by the home team between the second and third quarters, scoring eight of their 10 goals on the afternoon in that time frame.
Saint Anselm goalkeeper CJ Hart (Reading, Mass.) becomes the first in team history to reach 12 victories in one season, making 11 saves on 21 shots. He also secured four ground balls for the Hawks. Louis Ragusa, an All-Conference selection by the NE10, drew the loss for Pace, making 12 saves, including several highlight-reel rejections on Saint Anselm shooters.
The Hawks held the final statistical edges in shots taken (51-to-35), ground balls (41-to-35) and face-off victories (15-to-11). Both teams recorded 26 successful clears, but Pace was slightly more efficient (26-of-29) with Saint Anselm failing just five of its 31 clearance attempts.
