RINDGE, N.H. - Senior
Isabella Stuzynski (Bedford, Mass.) recorded a game-high six points after scoring four goals and dishing out a pair of assists to lead the nationally-ranked No. 22 Saint Anselm College women's lacrosse team to a dominant 17-3 road win over Franklin Pierce University on Wednesday evening. The Hawks, who had five different players finish with multi-goal performances, outscored the Ravens, 8-0, in the second half and did not allow a score for the final 36 minutes of regulation.
UP NEXT:
- Saint Anselm is back home on Saturday, April 13th, hosting No. 18 Bentley University in NE10 action from Grappone Stadium at 5:30 p.m.
Score: No. 22 Saint Anselm 17, Franklin Pierce 3
Records: No. 22 Saint Anselm 8-4 (5-2 NE10), Franklin Pierce 3-8 (2-4 NE10)
Location: Rindge, N.H. (Sodexo Field)
Date: Wednesday, April 10, 2024
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Franklin Pierce got off to a good start, forcing a shot clock violation on Saint Anselm's opening offensive possession. Hayley Hermsdorf then went down and scored the the first goal of the game to give the Ravens a 1-0 lead.
- The Hawks answered about 30 seconds later, tying the score with a free-position goal by Stuzynski.
- A couple minutes later after Saint Anselm forced a Franklin Pierce turnover, Stuzynski took control behind the Ravens net and threw a pass to senior Alison Ferullo (North Andover, Mass.), who made a backdoor cut to the cage and scored to give the Hawks their first lead of the day, 2-1, with 8:23 left in the opening quarter.
- Senior Erin Doyle (Weymouth, Mass.) won the ensuing draw control for Saint Anselm and exactly 30 seconds after taking the lead, junior Samantha Rivet (Sudbury, Mass.) helped the Hawks double their advantage. The midfielder drove around a defender and to the cage before bouncing a shot into the net to make it 3-1.
- After forcing another Franklin Pierce turnover, Saint Anselm slowed things down on offense. Junior Kendra Sabotka (Rutland, Vt.) got in on the action by driving to the net and scoring the fourth Hawks goal.
- Hawks junior goaltender Elizabeth Driscoll (Marlbehead, Mass.) was forced to make her first save of the game during a player-down situation, denying a close-range chance by Olivia DeLonais to keep her side ahead by three goals.
- With three minutes left in the first, Ferullo picked up her second goal of the game after being awarded a free-position shot, eventually making it 5-1. Driscoll made two more stops with under two minutes left in the period and Stuzynski set up Ferullo for her third goal of the game on the other end, allowing Saint Anselm to take a five-goal lead into the second.
- Franklin Pierce started to shift the momentum to begin the second quarter, forcing an early save out of Driscoll and firing another shot high. However, DeLonais found the back of the net for the Ravens at the 12:10 mark to cut the deficit down to four goals.
- No goals were scored over the next six minutes as both defenses started to lock in, forcing several turnovers by the opposing offenses. Franklin Pierce goaltender Katherine Hickey also made a pair of stops for the Ravens during that stretch, allowing Kayli Hoefs to go down and score to make it a 6-3 game with 6:05 remaining in the half.
- Coming out of a timeout, Saint Anselm responded with a goal to pull ahead, 7-3. Freshman Lucy Mawn (Harwich, Mass.) dodged to her left, spun back to her right, and ripped a shot to the lower left corner to put the Hawks on the board for the first time in the second period.
- With 2:35 to go in the half, Rivet was given a free-position opportunity. Instead of shooting, Rivet tossed a pass ahead to Sabotka, who was wide open out in front and finished off her second of the afternoon. Senior Jess Sullivan (Wrentham, Mass.) added one more for the Hawks before the buzzer while Driscoll made two more saves and Saint Anselm led by six, 9-3, at the intermission.
- It was a sloppy start to the second half as both sides committed multiple turnovers. Franklin Pierce seemed to have the upper hand, generating three good scoring chances, two of which were shut down by Driscoll while the other clanged off the pipe.
- Scoring the first goal of the third at the 6:42 mark was Stuzynski, coming from behind the cage and dodging by a defender before smoothly finishing from the top of the crease to extend Saint Anselm's lead to 10-3.
- The Hawks defense continued to clamp up the Ravens attack, forcing three more giveaways and allowing just one shot attempt during the remainder of the third.
- Saint Anselm forced another turnover to begin the fourth and at the other end, senior Maggie Fitzgerald (Holliston, Mass.) fired into the lower corner to put the Hawks up by eight.
- With 11 minutes to go, Hermsdorf caught in at the top of the crease, turned, and fired a shot on target, but Driscoll made a lunging save to preserve her second half shutout. The Hawks got out in transition after that, leading to Sullivan feeding Ferullo for another score to make it a 12-3 game.
- Stuzynski secured her hat trick about 90 seconds later, coming from behind the cage and beating a defender one-on-one before finishing to give Saint Anselm a double-digit lead. A couple minutes later, the senior attacker found the back of the net for the fourth time, wrapping around the crease, faking high, and finishing five-hole to increase the Hawks' advantage to 14-3.
- Junior Jaycie Balboni (Billerica, Mass.) added the 15th Saint Anselm goal from a free-position chance and Sullivan then provided the Hawks with her second tally of the game. Mawn scored her second in the game's final seconds and the Hawks cruised to a 17-3 victory.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Saint Anselm held a 30-18 lead in total shots and a 24-13 advantage in shots on goal. The Hawks also went three-for-four on free-position shots, while the Ravens did not have any.
- Turnovers were relatively even with Franklin Pierce committing 21 and Saint Anselm committing 19. The Hawks defense caused 10 of those giveaways, while the Ravens caused six. The Hawks also led, 19-10, in ground balls.
- Stuzynski led Saint Anselm with six points on four goals and two assists. Ferullo also ended with four goals, while Mawn, Sabotka, and Sullivan all had a pair of scores. Senior Kylee Horlbeck (Norwell, Mass.) led the Hawks defense with three caused turnovers and four ground balls.
- Driscoll made 13 saves in goal during 54:37 of action, allowing just three scores for a .769 save percentage.
- This marked the 25th all-time meeting between these two programs. Saint Anselm improves to 21-4 in the series against Franklin Pierce.
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