GARDEN CITY, N.Y. – In a thrilling game between two top 10 teams in all of NCAA Division II, the seventh-ranked Saint Anselm College men's lacrosse team fell on the road to fourth-ranked Adelphi University, 8-7, on Saturday afternoon. Senior
Jake Davis (Franklin, Mass.) had a standout performance with three goals and two assists for the Hawks, whose comeback fell just short after scoring five of the game's final six goals.
UP NEXT:
- Saint Anselm is back home for their regular season finale on Tuesday, April 23rd against nationally-ranked No. 9 Pace University at 4:00 p.m. from Grappone Stadium.
Score: No. 7 Saint Anselm 7, No. 4 Adelphi 8
Records: No. 7 Saint Anselm 8-3 (6-2 NE10), No. 4 Adelphi 11-2 (8-0 NE10)
Location: Garden City, N.Y. (Motamed Field)
Date: Saturday, April 20, 2024
Attendance: 627
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Fifth-year Craig Yannone (Lynnfield, Mass.), who controlled the faceoff X all afternoon, won the opening draw to give Saint Anselm the game's first possession. That resulted in the game's first goal by Davis off a feed from senior Noah Larsen (Northborough, Mass.).
- In his first career start, Hawks freshman goaltender Finn Granara (Reading, Mass.) made his first stop of the day at the 12:55 mark of the first, denying an attempt by Kyle Lewis of the Panthers.
- Both sides then committed three turnovers apiece. With 7:41 left in the first quarter, Noah Larsen ripped a shot that hit the cross-bar and 12 seconds later, junior Joe Lombardi (Holliston, Mass.) had his shot ring off the post.
- Adelphi got on the board at the 6:37 mark of the first on a goal by Frank Falco to tie things up at 1-1, but Yannone won the ensuing draw and ran it right down to the offensive zone where sophomore Chris Claflin (Newton, Mass.) set up Davis for his second goal of the game, a sidearm rip to the top left corner, to make it 2-1, Saint Anselm.
- Brian Harinski found the back of the net for the Panthers which tied the score at two goals apiece going into the second quarter. Eamon Hall then scored to give Adelphi its first lead of the game, 3-2, in the opening minutes of the second.
- The Panthers then came through with multiple stops after goaltender Dylan Renner made a save and the defense forced a shot clock violation. That turnover led to another score at the other end, this time by Kyle Steinbach, to make it 4-2.
- Logan Tucker later scored a goal for Adelphi and after he hit the post on their next offensive possession, Ryan Bauco added another tally to give the Panthers a four-goal advantage with 3:42 remaining in the first half.
- After another save by Renner, Adelphi gained possession and called timeout. With 15 seconds left, Braden Donnellan found the back of the cage off a feed from Bauco. That gave the Panthers their sixth straight goal and a 7-2 edge at the halftime break.
- Saint Anselm started the third quarter on a positive note with a goal just over three minutes in. Davis found Lombardi open behind the defense and the junior finished from the top of the crease to trim the deficit back down to four.
- That was the only goal of the entire third quarter as the Hawks' defense started to turn things up by forcing five Panthers turnovers and allowing just one shot on goal.
- Still down four at the start of the final frame, Saint Anselm began to increase their offensive pressure. They fired five shots on goal at the start of the quarter, but all were stopped by Renner. The Hawks also had another shot draw iron, but could not cut into the Panthers lead.
- Luckily, Saint Anselm's defense continued its solid play by forcing four more Adelphi giveaways. With 7:39 on the clock, junior Will Andrews (Cumberland, R.I.) scored with a sidearm rip and after another faceoff win by Yannone, sophomore Maverick Lyon (Albany, Ore.) scored off a feed from senior Nick Larsen (Northborough, Mass.) to make it 7-5.
- Donnellan added his second goal of the game for Adelphi with 5:14 to play, but Saint Anselm remained persistent, resulting in a score by Andrews that kept it a two-goal game with 3:27 remaining.
- The Panthers won their first faceoff of the contest on the ensuing draw, but graduate student Ryan Slattery defenseman (North Andover, Mass.) came through on the back end for the Hawks by causing another turnover. After a successful clear, Davis beat the goalie low for his third goal of the game and with just over a minute to go, Adelphi's lead was down to just one.
- Yannone made quick work on the following faceoff, giving the Hawks one final chance to tie the score. However, the Panthers' defense clutched up in the final minute and did not allow Saint Anselm to get off a clean look, allowing Adelphi to hold on for the 8-7 win.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Saint Anselm held a 46-20 advantage in total shot attempts for the game.
- The Hawks dominated on faceoffs, winning 18 out of 19, as well as ground balls, 42-14. Yannone won all 18 faceoffs for Saint Anselm and had 11 ground ball pickups.
- Turnovers were all square at 16 apiece. Saint Anselm's defense caused 12 giveaways, while Adelphi's defense caused 11.
- The Hawks had the only extra-man opportunity in the game and were held scoreless.
- Davis led Saint Anselm with three goals and two assists for five points, while Andrews had two goals. Lombardi and Lyon had the other markers for the Hawks. Slattery led the defense with four caused turnovers and a pair of ground balls.
- Adelphi was led by seven different goalscorers.
- This marked the 17th game between these two programs in the all-time series. Adelphi remains undefeated against Saint Anselm.
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