ERIE, Pa. – In a rematch of last season's NCAA Quarterfinal, the nationally-ranked No. 11 Saint Anselm College men's lacrosse team went on the road and dominated No. 13 Mercyhurst University from start to finish on Monday evening from Saxon Stadium. After being held to just nine goals against the Lakers during the 2023 postseason, the Hawks offense exploded for 18 goals to help the team secure its third win of the year. Three Saint Anselm student-athletes recorded hat tricks in the victory, including senior
Nick Larsen (Northborough, Mass.) who finished with career-highs of five goals and seven points.
UP NEXT:
- Saint Anselm has over a week off before its next game in Albany, N.Y. against the College of Saint Rose on Saturday, March 23rd at 4:00 p.m.
Score: No. 11 Saint Anselm 18, No. 13 Mercyhurst 10
Records: No. 11 Saint Anselm 3-1 (1-0 NE10), No. 13 Mercyhurst 2-3
Location: Erie, Pa. (Saxon Stadium)
Date: Monday, March 11, 2024
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Saint Anselm had a strong start to the game and held a 4-0 lead after one quarter of play. Scoring two of the first three goals for the Hawks was senior Jake Davis (Franklin, Mass.). Nick Larsen and senior Noah Larsen (Northborough, Mass.) also scored for the Hawks during the opening period.
- Junior Will Andrews (Cumberland, R.I.) made it 5-0 at the beginning of the second quarter with his first of the game, but Merychurst got on the board not long after with a Ryan Mahoney goal that made it 5-1.
- Saint Anselm scored four of the next five goals to close out the first half. Noah Larsen scored twice and Jake Davis added another, both completing their hat tricks, before Will Andrews made it 9-2 with his second of the evening 1:31 before the break as the Hawks led, 9-2.
- Trailing by seven, Mercyhurst started the second half on a positive note with two quick goals. Casey Scott and Ethan Landymore each found the back of the net for the Lakers in the opening two minutes of the third quarter to cut the deficit down to five.
- After a faceoff win by fifth-year Craig Yannone (Lynnfield, Mass.), fifth-year Jack Andrews (Cumberland, R.I.) responded with a right-handed rip from about 15 yards away to put Saint Anselm ahead, 10-4.
- The Hawks defense then forced a Lakers turnover that turned into another score. Nick Larsen dodged to his right and flung an overhead shot on frame that extended Saint Anselm's lead back up to seven with the score at 11-4.
- With 7:55 remaining in the third, Landymore picked up his second goal of the quarter for Merychurst with a low side-arm shot from the top, but 30 seconds later Saint Anselm quickly countered with two goals in a 10-second span to make it 13-5.
- Sophomore Chris Claflin (Newton, Mass.) opened up his scoring account on the evening with a beautiful goal after faking a left-handed shot, dodging to his right, and then moving back to his left and shooting while going to ground to beat the goalie. On the ensuing faceoff, Jack Andrews scooped up the ground ball and sprinted right to the offensive end, where he shot and scored his second of the game for the Hawks.
- Jeremi Phoenix-Lefebvre then scored for the Lakers to make it 13-6 with six minutes to go in the third, but Nick Larsen became the third Hawk to register a hat trick after scoring his third of the game off an excellent feed from fifth-year Jack Robinson (Wilbraham, Mass.) from behind the cage.
- Chase Petschke added one more goal for Merychurst, but Claflin finished a left-handed snipe for his second goal of the game and Saint Anselm held a 15-7 lead going into the final quarter.
- Just over a minute into the fourth, Robinson got the ball behind the net once again and came around the left side, drawing the Mercyhurst goalie out from his crease. Robinson was hit on the play, but finished through contact for Saint Anselm's 16th goal of the game.
- The Lakers then scored three unanswered goals to bring it back to within a six-goal deficit with 7:32 left in the game. Phoenix-Lefebvre added his second, and Ryan Mahoney recorded his second and third goals of the game, making it 16-10.
- Despite the momentum turning to Mercyhurst's side, senior goaltender Anthony Kubik (Chicago, Ill). and the Saint Anselm defense closed the door on the Lakers by shutting them out for the final seven minutes of the game. Despite an extra-man opportunity, Kubik made two saves and the Hawks defense forced five turnovers in the fourth quarter to seal the win.
- In the final moments with Mercyhurst's goalie out of the crease chasing the ball, Nick Larsen scored two more goals for his team-leading fourth and fifth of the game to make the final score 18-10, Saint Anselm.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Saint Anselm held a 43-29 advantage in shots on goal during the game.
- The Hawks also held a huge advantage at the faceoff X, winning 24 out of 31 total (77.4%). Yannone led Saint Anselm with 17 faceoff wins out of 21 attempts (80.9%), tying his most in a single-game since the 2021 season.
- Saint Anselm dominated the battle on the ground by scooping up 30 ground balls compared to just 11 picked up by Mercyhurst. The Hawks committed just eight turnovers in the game while the Lakers had 15. Saint Anselm went a perfect 14 for 14 on clears, while Mercyhurst went 15 for 16.
- Kubik made eight saves in goal for the Hawks, while Brett Olney made 10 saves for the Lakers before being replaced by Tyler Moritzen, who had three stops.
- Saint Anselm's Nick Larsen set a new career-high with five goals and added two assists for a career-best seven points. Davis (four goals) and Noah Larsen (three goals) also had hat tricks, while Jack Andrews, Will Andrews, and Claflin all had multi-goal games for the Hawks. Davis now leads the team with 13 goals through four games.
- Yannone picked up 13 ground balls for Saint Anselm, while freshman defenseman Jake Klepacki (East Longmeadow, Mass.) led the team with three caused turnovers.
- Landymore and Mahoney led the way for Merychurst with three goals apiece.
- This marked the second-ever meeting between these two programs. Saint Anselm picks up its first-ever win over Mercyhurst.
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