MANCHESTER, N.H. – Five different Hawks recorded multi-goal games including junior
Joe Lombardi (Holliston, Mass.), who secured his second straight hat trick, to lead the nationally-ranked No. 12 Saint Anselm College men's lacrosse team to a dominant 17-8 win over No. 11 Bentley University on Saturday afternoon. The Hawks get redemption for their non-conference road loss to the Falcons earlier this season and improve to 5-1 on the year with a 3-0 Northeast-10 Conference record.
UP NEXT:
- Saint Anselm faces Southern New Hampshire University at Mark A. Oullette Stadium on Wednesday, April 3rd at 7:00 p.m.
Score: No. 12 Saint Anselm 17, No. 11 Bentley 8
Records: No. 12 Saint Anselm 5-1 (3-0 NE10), No. 11 Bentley 3-3 (1-2)
Location: Manchester, N.H. (Grappone Stadium)
Date: Saturday, March 30, 2024
Attendance: 267
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- After Nick McGovern got Bentley on the board with an early goal, Saint Anselm ripped off three straight scores to obtain the lead.
- First, junior Colin Mulvey (Reading, Mass.) came around the net and took a left-handed shot on the run to tie it up, 1-1. Senior Nick Larsen (Northborough, Mass.) then spun to his left and ripped a sidearm shot from up top to make it 2-1, Hawks. A minute later, he drew two Falcon defenders out and delivered a behind-the-back pass to his brother, senior Noah Larsen (Northborough, Mass.), who bounced in a shot to put the Hawks ahead by two scores.
- With 2:58 left in the first, Nick Harvath scored for Bentley to trim the deficit down to just one, but Mulvey answered right back, spinning between to defenders and netting his second of the game to give Saint Anselm a 4-2 lead after a quarter.
- The Hawks scored three consecutive goals to start the second and jumped out to a 7-2 advantage. Three minutes into the period, senior Jake Davis (Franklin, Mass.) fed Lombardi, who turned and fired an underhanded bounce shot that found the back of the cage. Noah Larsen then produced his second score after spinning to his left and cranking a shot into the lower left corner. 46 seconds later on a man-up opportunity, Nick Larsen fed Lombardi from behind the goal. Lombardi's quick-stick shot was enough for his second of the game.
- Eddie Gigliotti responded with a man-down goal for the Falcons, but the Hawks scored three unanswered goals and increased their lead to 10-3. With under six minutes left in the half, fifth-year Jack Andrews (Cumberland, R.I.) powered home a right-handed bounce shot while on the run. After that, freshman Mark Boyle (Reading, Mass.) got to his right hand and rifled a shot past Bentley goaltender Jackson Tinsley. Junior Will Andrews (Cumberland, R.I.) then got down the right alley and placed a shot just inside the left post for the 10th Saint Anselm goal with 2:56 to go in the half.
- Conor Segreti tallied a goal for the Falcons before halftime, but the Hawks held a 10-4 edge at the break. Segreti scored again for Bentley 50 seconds into the third quarter, but Saint Anselm's defense shutout the Falcon attack for the rest of the quarter. Senior goaltender Anthony Kubik (Chicago, Ill.) made a couple of stops and Saint Anselm's defense forced three turnovers during the remainder of the third.
- A few minutes after the Falcons made it a 10-5 game, Nick Larsen made a swim move over a defender and found the back of the cage for the second time. With 23 seconds left in the third, he fed sophomore Brendan Crowley (Leicester, Mass.) who was wide open in front of goal and finished as the Hawks led, 12-5, after three quarters of play.
- On the opening faceoff of the fourth quarter, Bentley was awarded a man-up opportunity after a tripping penalty was committed by Saint Anselm. It did not take long for the Falcons to capitalize, as Jayce Lambert scored just 14 seconds after the penalty was called to make it a 12-6 game.
- The Hawks came out of a timeout and controlled possession in the offensive zone. Will Andrews took a shot that was saved by Tinsley, but sophomore Maverick Lyon (Albany, Ore.) scored a jumping turnaround shot at the 13:28 mark to push the lead back up to seven for the Hawks.
- The Saint Anselm defense came up big after that, with Kubik making a huge save on a laser up top by Bentley's Nathan Alviti. The Hawks then forced a Falcons turnover during a man-down situation to keep their seven-goal lead intact with under 10 minutes left.
- On Saint Anselm's next offensive, Davis drove down the left alley and found a cutting Lombardi, who finished off his third goal of the game to make it 14-6.
- With 8:09 remaining, Bentley's Nicholas Thorn-Guillaro received a pass and was wide open in front of goal, but his point-blank effort was stuffed by Kubik. At the other end, Davis got himself into the scoring column with a straight-away bounce shot to make it 15-6.
- Thorn-Guillaro then added a score for the Falcons, but Lyon came down and answered right away with his second goal of the game, putting the Hawks back up by nine goals, 16-7, with just over three minutes remaining.
- Segreti added his third goal of the afternoon with under two minutes to play, but Saint Anselm put an exclamation point on the win with less than a minute to go. Kubik made another save on the defensive end and the Hawks cleared it ahead to graduate student Jake Athanas (Manchester-By-The-Sea, Mass.), who drove in from midfield and slung it over to freshman Noah Caron (Pelham, N.H.). Caron's sidearm rip went top shelf to make it 17-8, which went on to be the final score.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Saint Anselm held a 54-30 advantage in shot attempts as well as a 29-17 edge in shots on target.
- The Hawks also held a huge lead in faceoffs, 19-9, with fifth-year Craig Yannone (Lynnfield, Mass.) leading the way by going 15 for 22 (68 percent) at the X. Yannone currently sits second in program history in career faceoff percentage (.580).
- Bentley held a slight edge in ground balls, 13-12. Both teams committed 15 turnovers in the game. Saint Anselm went 20 for 21 on clears, while Bentley went 16 for 21.
- Kubik played all 60 minutes in goal for the Hawks, allowing just eight goals and posting nine saves in the win. Tinsley made 12 saves and allowed all 17 goals in the cage for the Falcons.
- Nick Larsen (two goals and three assists) led Saint Anselm with five points. Lombardi finished with three goals for his second consecutive hat trick. Davis (one goal and two assists) also had three points and eight other Hawks scored at least once.
- Senior defenseman Jonathan Holland (Derry, N.H.) had a strong day on the back end for Saint Anselm, causing a team-high two turnovers and picking up a ground ball.
- Gigliotti had a goal and three assists while Segreti had three goals to pace Bentley.
- This marked the 32nd all-time meeting between these two programs. Saint Anselm is now 12-20 overall against Bentley.
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