SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The nationally-ranked No. 8 Saint Anselm College men's lacrosse team remained unbeaten in Northeast-10 Conference play after a 14-11 road victory over American International College on Tuesday evening. Senior
Nick Larsen (Northborough, Mass.) led a balanced offense with three goals and an assist, while four other Hawks finished with multi-goal performances in the win. Fifth-year
Craig Yannone (Lynnfield, Mass.) tied his career-high with 23 faceoff wins and set a new career-best with 20 ground balls.
UP NEXT:
- Saint Anselm is on the road again on Saturday, April 13th at Assumption University for a 12:00 p.m. game in Worcester, Mass.
Score: No. 8 Saint Anselm 14, American International 11
Records: No. 8 Saint Anselm 7-1 (5-0 NE10), American International 5-7 (1-5 NE10)
Location: Springfield, Mass. (Ronald J. Abdow Field)
Date: Tuesday, April 9, 2024
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Saint Anselm started the game with the ball after an opening faceoff win by Yannone. On the first possession, junior Colin Mulvey (Reading, Mass.) scored the first goal of the game to put Saint Anselm in front, 1-0.
- American International responded shortly after with the game-tying goal by Seven Gillingham.
- 43 seconds later, junior Joe Lombardi (Holliston, Mass.) found the back of the net to help the Hawks retake the lead. After a Saint Anselm turnover, American International went right back to work on the offensive end. Carter Linkletter ripped a shot on target for the Yellow Jackets, but Hawks junior goaltender Anthony Kubik (Chicago, Ill.) turned aside that effort.
- That save led to a transition opportunity for the Hawks. Graduate student Ryan Slattery scooped up the ground ball after the save. Larsen then ran it ahead and found sophomore Brendan Crowley (Leciester, Mass.) for the goal to make it 3-1, Saint Anselm.
- The Hawks won the ensuing faceoff resulting in another score, this time by fifth-year Jack Robinson (Wilbraham, Mass.) 18 seconds later to increase the lead to three goals.
- After calling a timeout with 6:32 left in the first quarter, Saint Anselm kept the pressure on American International by firing off six straight shot attempts. Yellow Jackets goaltender Shaden Shields stopped three of them, but ultimately Larsen scored the fifth goal of the night for the Hawks to make it a 5-1 game.
- Dawson Long scored for American International with 13 seconds left in the period, but the Hawks took a 5-2 advantage into the second.
- The same situation occurred to open the second, with Yannone winning the opening draw and the Hawks controlling things on the offensive end, resulting in Mulvey's second of the night at the 13:57 mark, but Long and the Yellow Jackets countered with another goal 38 seconds later to make it 6-3.
- American International pulled within two goals just over a minute later after a goal by Camden MacDonald, but with 10:14 left in the half, senior Jake Davis (Franklin, Mass.) fed sophomore Maverick Lyon (Albany, Ore.) to put Saint Anselm back up by three goals, 7-4.
- Long secured his hat trick and cut the deficit back down to two goals with 6:45 left in the half, but with 5:50 to go, sophomore Chris Claflin (Newton, Mass.) set up Robinson for his second goal as the Hawks extended the lead back up to three.
- In the final minutes of the half, both defenses stepped up by causing turnovers and both goalies made key saves as the first 30 minutes ended, 8-5, in favor of the visitors.
- Gillingham opened the scoring for American International in the second half less than two minutes in. The Yellow Jackets added another to cut the deficit to just one 24 seconds later courtesy of a tally by Linkletter.
- After both teams turned the ball over twice, Shields came up with a huge save for American International, allowing Long to go down and record his fourth score of the game to tie things up, 8-8.
- The Yellow Jackets continued to capitalize on their momentum, scoring another to take their first lead of the game, 9-8, after Jacob Ligor found the back of the cage. After consecutive saves by Shields, Micaiah Boyle then scored and with 4:07 left in the third, American International held a two-goal edge.
- Lyon provided a much-needed response for Saint Anselm, scoring the first goal of the quarter for the Hawks off another helper from Claflin with 1:44 remaining to make it a 10-9 game going into the fourth.
- Aiden Moscarello won the opening faceoff to start the final quarter for the Yellow Jackets, allowing Linkletter to go down and finish another 14 seconds into the period to put his team back in front by a pair.
- However, the Hawks rattled off the final five goals of the game to take a commanding 14-11 lead with under five minutes to play. Claflin got himself in the scoring column with a goal just over 90 seconds into the fourth, and Larsen added another to tie it, 11-11, with 11:38 to go in the game.
- After Davis hit the cross-bar with under 10 minutes left, Larsen and junior Will Andrews (Cumberland, R.I.) each scored to make it a 13-11 score. Claflin then fired off a shot that hit the pipe, but eventually added his second for an insurance goal with 4:24 to play.
- After conceding the early American International goal in the fourth quarter, the Saint Anselm defense stepped things up after that. Over the final 14:46 of action, the Hawks defense completely shut down the Yellow Jackets attack, not allowing a single shot and forcing seven turnovers. That allowed the Hawks to hang on for the three-goal margin of victory and their sixth straight win.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Saint Anselm held large leads in both shots, 58-26, and shots on goal, 33-19.
- The Hawks also held a large lead at the faceoff X, winning 25 out of 29. Yannone matched his career-high with 23 faceoffs won out of 26 attempts (88.5 percent).
- Saint Anselm scooped up 49 ground balls in the victory, while American International finished with 27. The Hawks went 13-for-16 on clears compared to the Yellow Jackets going 19-for-23.
- Turnovers were even with Saint Anselm committing 19 and American International committing 18. Both defenses caused 11 turnovers, while each offense went 0-for-1 on man-up opportunities.
- Larsen led the Hawks offense with three goals and an assist for a four-point night. Claflin, Lyon, Mulvey, and Robinson each scored twice, while Andrews, Crowley, and Lombardi all scored once. Claflin, Davis, and Mulvey each recorded two assists as well.
- Yannone recorded 20 ground balls in the win, far and away a career-best. Slattery caused a team-high three turnovers.
- Long led the Yellow Jackets with four goals, while Gillingham and Linkletter added two apiece.
- This marked the 21st meeting between these two programs since 2000. Saint Anselm is now 21-0 overall against American International all-time.
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