SAINT LEO, Fla. – The No. 21 Saint Anselm College women's lacrosse team jumped out to a 10-4 halftime lead and never looked back, downing No. 23 Saint Leo University by a 17-9 score on Wednesday.

With the win, the Hawks improve to 3-0 on the season while the Lions fall to 3-6. The Hawks conclude their spring break trip on Friday, Mar. 18 against No. 16 Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. The opening draw control is scheduled for 1 p.m.

The Hawks have opened the season 3-0 for the third consecutive season and are outscoring opponents by a 50-20 margin to open their 2022 campaign.

Junior Lexi Palmisano (Woburn, Mass.) posted a career-high six goals to lead the Saint Anselm attack. Senior Jenna Balboni (Billerica, Mass.) netted four goals for the second time this season while sophomore Jess Sullivan (Wrentham, Mass.) added three goals for the Hawks. The trio have all netted 10 or more goals on the year.

Senior Grace Young (Merrimack, N.H.) posted her third win of the season and stopped 11 shots on target. The senior stopped five of seven shots on goal in the second quarter.

Emma Hayhurst opened the scoring, giving the Lions a 1-0 lead with 12:33 remaining in the first quarter. Sullivan netted back-to-back goals to give the Hawks a 2-1 edge and Palmisano continued the run to extend the Saint Anselm lead to 3-1.

Fiona Mclaughlin snapped the three-goal run but goals from senior Taylor Cobain (Smithfield, R.I.), Balboni, and Palmisano closed the first quarter with the Hawks leading 6-2. Palmisano opened the second quarter with her third goal of the contest, extending the Hawks scoring run to four.

The teams traded goals throughout the second stanza but a shot from sophomore Isabella Stuzynski (Bedford, Mass.) found the back of the cage with 3:14 left in the first half, marking the final tally of the opening 30 minutes of play.

The Lions opened the second half with a goal from Delaney Gilchrist but another three-goal run, with goals from Balboni, Palmisano and Sullivan, pushed the Hawks out to a 13-5 lead. The squads traded goals to close the third quarter. Saint Leo netted two goals in the opening minute of the fourth quarter to cut the Hawks advantage to five but another three-goal run from the Hawks propelled the team to a 17-9 win over Saint Leo.

Saint Anselm held a 27-20 advantage in shots on goal and was 19-25 in clears. The Hawks collected 21 ground balls and caused 10 turnovers in the contest.