HOOKSETT, N.H. – 13 student-athletes combined to score 24 goals, which tied the most in a single game in program history, as the nationally ranked #25 Saint Anselm College women's lacrosse team earned a dominant 24-4 victory over American International in their season-opener on Saturday afternoon. Senior
Kendra Sabotka (Rutland, Vt.), sophomores
Alyssa Hill (Brookline, N.H.) and
Lucy Mawn (Harwich, Mass.), and freshman
Ayla McDermod (Hanover, Mass.) all registered hat tricks to lead the Hawks.
UP NEXT:
- Saint Anselm hosts Saint Michael's in a non-conference game on Friday, February 21st at 2:00 p.m. from Grappone Stadium.
Score: #25 Saint Anselm 24, American International 4
Records: #25 Saint Anselm (1-0, 1-0 NE10), American International (0-1, 0-1 NE10)
Location: Hooksett, N.H. (Mark A. Ouellette Stadium - Southern New Hampshire University)
Date: Saturday, February 15th, 2025
Attendance: 55
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Saint Anselm opened the game with four unanswered goals over the first few minutes of action. Senior Abigail Christmas (Elmira, N.Y.) scored two of those goals, while senior Samantha Rivet (Sudbury, Mass.) added a player-up score to help the Hawks take an early 4-0 lead.
- With 6:45 left in the first quarter, Jordyn Galgay got American International on the board with a goal to make it 4-1.
- The Hawks responded with six more goals before the end of the first quarter and took a 10-1 lead into the second. McDermod scored all three of her goals during that span, while Sabotka scored twice including one with 25 seconds left.
- A little more than three minutes into the second period, Robin Trombly got one back for the Yellow Jackets, but the Hawks answered right away with five consecutive goals. Four different players scored in the second quarter for the Hawks, which included a pair of scores by junior Brianna Fruci (Walpole, Mass.).
- American International's Mackenna Donohue went on to score a player-up goal with just over a minute left in the first half, but Saint Anselm maintained a 15-3 advantage at the intermission.
- The Hawks continued to dominate in the third quarter and outscored the Yellow Jackets during that 15-minute frame, 4-0. Sabotka completed her hat trick just over two minutes into the third, while three other players found the back of the net to help Saint Anselm take a 19-3 lead into the final quarter.
- Hill picked up her third goal of the game 2:15 into the final period off a feed from Rivet, which gave the home team 20 goals for the game.
- Gabrielle Walz scored the final goal of the game for American International with 10:42 remaining, which made it 20-4.
- Saint Anselm went on to score four more goals over the final 10 minutes of the game. Mawn was the fourth Hawk to complete her hat trick, while sophomore Kyra O'Connell (Dracut, Mass.) and freshman Lily Shea (Beverly, Mass.) each tallied their first collegiate scores as Saint Anselm rolled to a 24-4 victory.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Saint Anselm held a massive 42-10 advantage in total shots as well as a 34-7 edge in shots on goal over American International.
- The Yellow Jackets held an 18-11 lead over the Hawks on draw controls. Galgay registered eight draw controls individually to lead the visitors.
- Saint Anselm also dominated the ground ball battle, scooping up 18 compared to just five picked up by American International. Hill led the Hawks with a game-high three ground balls.
- The Yellow Jackets committed 26 turnovers in the game, while the Hawks committed eight giveaways.
- The Hawks defense caused 19 of those turnovers, while the Yellow Jackets defense caused only one. Junior Elyse Scales (Walpole, Mass.) led Saint Anselm with a career-high five caused turnovers. Hill also set a career-best for the Hawks with four caused turnovers.
- Saint Anselm went a near-perfect 17-for-18 (94.4 percent) on clear attempts. American International had just three successful clears out of 10 attempts (30.0 percent).
- On free-position shots, the Hawks scored three times out of four opportunities. The Yellow Jackets were held scoreless on two free-position chances.
- The game featured eight penalties with both sides earning four. There were three green cards and five yellow cards issued.
- Saint Anselm scored two player-up goals in the game, while American International scored one.
- Hill, Mawn, McDermod, and Sabotka all posted hat tricks for the Hawks. It was the second career hat trick for both Mawn and Sabotka, while Hill and McDermod scored three or more goals for the first time in their careers. Sabotka also added two assists in the game to lead the Hawks with five points.
- Christmas, Fruci, and Rivet all scored twice, while six other players scored once for Saint Anselm.
- Shea had a solid debut for the Hawks with her first career goal to go along with a game-high three assists. Also scoring their first career goals in the game for Saint Anselm were McDermod, O'Connell, and sophomore Caitlin Walsh (Chelmsford, Mass.).
- Four different players scored unassisted goals for American International.
- Three different goaltenders saw action for Saint Anselm. Senior Elizabeth Driscoll (Marblehead, Mass.) earned the win after playing the first half, while sophomore Madelin Dunbar (Chelmsford, Mass.) and freshman Aiko Fujita (Southold, N.Y.) each played a quarter and combined to make three saves.
- With 25 career goaltending victories, Driscoll is now three wins away from breaking the program record of 27 that has stood for almost a decade.
- Maggie Kloster made 10 saves in the cage and earned the loss for the Yellow Jackets.
- This marked the 27th all-time meeting between these two programs. Saint Anselm improves to 25-2 overall against American International in the series that began in 2000.
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