ALBANY, N.Y. – The nationally-ranked Saint Anselm College men's lacrosse team exploded for a season-high 22 goals on Saturday, easing past the College of Saint Rose by a 22-11 margin at the Plumeri Sports Complex.
No. 15-ranked Saint Anselm improved to 5-4 overall and to 3-3 within the Northeast-10 Conference with the result while Saint Rose, receiving votes in the USILA national poll, drops to 7-5 on the year with a 2-3 mark in league play.
The 22-goal outburst by the Hawks was the second-most goals scored in NCAA Division II play on the road – the Hawks posted 25 goals at American International on Mar. 19, 2016. The team's five man-up goals were the most in a game since Mar. 10, 2018 against Post, logging six in that contest with the Eagles.
Junior AJ Caprio (Scituate, Mass.) won 20-of-27 face-offs for the Hawks, scooping up 15 ground balls on the day – he is only one of five student-athletes in team history (since the statistic was reliably tracked starting in 2005) to log more than 20 wins at the "X" in a game. As a team, the Hawks won 24 face-offs, the most in a road game since at least the 2005 season.
Graduate student Sean Tomaszewski (Arlington, Mass.) and junior Jack Andrews (Cumberland, R.I.) each scored five goals with an assist for six points (5-1=6), pacing a Saint Anselm offense that fired 59 shots on the afternoon. Andrews matched career-high marks in both goals (five) and points (six) while Tomaszewski equaled his personal-best output in goal scoring (five).
Senior Jack Wells (Melrose, Mass.) pumped home three goals and finished with four points, matching career-high figures in his 30th career game at Saint Anselm. Junior Will Kezerian (Northborough, Mass.) and freshman Colin Mulvey (Reading, Mass.) each scored twice, a single-game personal best for each of them.
Freshman Owen Sullivan (Charlestown, Mass.) logged a goal and an assist for his first collegiate points. Tomaszewski and senior Kyle Fisher (Nashua, N.H.) hauled in five and four ground balls, respectively, while sophomore Jonathan Holland (Derry, N.H.) caused three turnovers.
Saint Rose poured home the game's first two goals before the Hawks rattled off four in a row to capture a 4-2 lead at the end of the first quarter. The hosts battled back to eventually tie the game at five with 2:53 to go in the first half, striking back-to-back within two minutes to erase a two-goal bulge for Saint Anselm.
It was all Saint Anselm from that point forward as an 11-goal run for the Hawks put the game out of reach. The Hawks had 15 opportunities with the extra man as Saint Rose was whistled for 13 penalties totaling over 11 minutes – Saint Anselm struck five times with the additional player, scoring three man-up goals in the third quarter alone.
Senior backstop CJ Hart (Reading, Mass.) earned his fifth win of the year for Saint Anselm in goal, making eight saves on 14 shots. Junior Will Davis (Franklin, Mass.) made a career-high three saves in relief of Hart.
Saint Anselm heads to American International on Tuesday, Apr. 12 for a 7 p.m. showdown with the Yellow Jackets in NE10 play.
