MANCHESTER, N.H. – The No. 9 Saint Anselm College men's lacrosse team took an early 6-1 lead and never looked back, downing cross-town rival Southern New Hampshire University by a 21-13 score on Saturday, Mar. 12.

With the win, the Hawks improve to 3-0 on the season and 1-0 in Northeast-10 Conference play while the Penmen, who are receiving votes in the most recent USILA National Poll, fall to 0-1 overall and in NE10 contests. Saint Anselm hosts No. 1 Le Moyne College, in a rematch of last season's NCAA Quarterfinals and the NE10 Championship game, on Saturday, Mar. 19 with the contest slated to start at 12 p.m. from Grappone Stadium.

In the Queen City Cup standings, Southern New Hampshire holds a 15-9 lead with women's lacrosse, baseball, and softball still to play in the cross-town rivalry.

Graduate student Sean Tomaszewski (Arlington, Mass.) potted a career-high five goals and added two assists for seven points to lead the Saint Anselm offense. Junior Jack Andrews (Cumberland, R.I.) and sophomore Noah Larsen (Northborough, Mass.) added four goals each while sophomore Nick Larsen (Northborough, Mass.) netted two goals and assisted on three others for a five-point performance.

Senior CJ Hart (Reading, Mass.) made 11 saves in the cage for the Hawks, improving to 3-0 on the season and 20-4 in his time on the Hilltop.

Noah Larsen and senior Jack Wells (Melrose, Mass.) gave the Hawks a 3-0 in the first 5:33 of the contest before Jack Terrones ended the streak and got the Penmen on the board. A stretch of three goals from graduate student Will Palmer (Concord, Mass.), junior Callen Willwerth (Northborough, Mass.), and Tomaszewski that spanned just 1:09 of the first quarter gave Saint Anselm a 6-1 lead just before the halfway point of the opening frame. The squads traded goals in the closing minutes of the quarter as the Hawks would lead 8-3 through 15 minutes of play.

After a goal for each side in the opening minutes of the second quarter, the Hawks netted the remaining four goals before the intermission, with two of them coming with an extra player, ultimately giving Saint Anselm a 13-4 lead at the half.

The squads combined for 12 goals in the third stanza which pushed the Hawks lead to 19-10 and after the fourth quarter's opening goal by Tomaszewski, Saint Anselm led by 10, which stood at the largest lead of the contest. Southern New Hampshire outscored the Hawks in the fourth quarter, 3-2, but the early quick strike offense powered the team to a 21-13 win.

Saint Anselm took advantage of 10 extra-man opportunities, cashing in on four of them. Southern New Hampshire netted three goals in nine extra-man opportunities. Saint Anselm fired 51 shots compared to 31 for the Penmen.