COLCHESTER, Vt. – The nationally-ranked Saint Anselm College women's lacrosse team opened its 2023 Northeast-10 Conference slate with a 12-2 win over Saint Michael's College on Wednesday.

The Hawks, who slotted in the No. 25 spot in the most recent ILWomen/IWLCA Division II Poll, improve to 4-0 overall and 1-0 in conference play. The Purple Knights drop to 1-1 on their season and 0-1 in NE10 contests.

Senior Lexi Palmisano (Woburn, Mass.) led all student-athletes with four points, coming from four goals. Palmisano needs just one point to reach the 100-career points mark as she currently sits on 99 in her time on the Hilltop.

Senior Taylor Cobain (East Greenwich, R.I.) and junior Jess Sullivan (Wrentham, Mass.) went for three points apiece as Cobain netted one goal and assisted on two others while Sullivan recorded three goals in the contest.

The last time the Hawks defense allowed two goals or less came on Mar. 5, 2019 in a win over Barton College. Saint Anselm also moves to 4-0 to start the season for the third time in the last four campaigns.

Sullivan netted the game's opening goal with 10:35 left in the first quarter and doubled the Hawks lead just 1:35 later.

Sophomore Samantha Rivet (Sudbury, Mass.) and Palmisano combined for three Saint Anselm goals in 1:29 to push the lead to five before a last minute goal from Palmisano gave the Hawks a 6-0 lead through the opening 15 minutes of play.

The Hawks run would continue through the second quarter as junior Erin Doyle (Weymouth, Mass.), Sullivan, and a pair from Palmisano pushed the Hawks lead to 10. The teams traded goals in the final four minutes of the first half with a goal for the Purple Knights from Erin Stolz and one for the Hawks from Cobain.

Senior Alison Ferullo (North Andover, Mass.) found the back of the cage with 12:24 left in the third quarter which capped the Hawks scoring in the contest.

Catie Murphy added a down goal for the Purple Knights midway through the fourth quarter, which pushed the score to its eventual final of 12-2.

Sophomore Elizabeth Driscoll (Marblehead, Mass.) collected her fourth win of the season after matching a career-best with seven saves. Junior Tess Froio (Hull, Mass.) saw time in the fourth quarter and stopped the lone shot on goal she faced.

The Hawks held a 35-15 advantage in shots including a 26-10 lead in shots on goal. Both sides grabbed nine draw controls in the battle. The Hawks were 13-for-20 in clears while the Purple Knights were 13-for-23.

Saint Anselm is back in action on Saturday, Mar. 11 at Southern Connecticut State University in its third consecutive game away from the Hilltop.