MANCHESTER, N.H. – Sophomore
Lucy Mawn (Harwich, Mass.) and freshman
Ayla McDermod (Hanover, Mass.) each recorded a hat trick to lead the nationally ranked #24 Saint Anselm College women's lacrosse team to a 15-12 comeback win over Roberts Wesleyan on Friday. Sophomore
Julia Rowley (Dover, N.H.) set a collegiate career-best with three points on two goals and an assist in the non-conference victory for the Hawks, who remain undefeated with a 4-0 record on the season.
UP NEXT:
- Saint Anselm has a couple weeks off before taking on Southern Connecticut State in Northeast-10 Conference (NE10) action on Thursday, March 13th at 4:00 p.m. in New Haven, Conn.
Score: #24 Saint Anselm 15, Roberts Wesleyan 12
Records: #24 Saint Anselm (4-0), Roberts Wesleyan (0-3)
Location: Manchester, N.H. (Grappone Stadium)
Date: Friday, February 28th, 2025
Attendance: 89
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Both teams scored early goals with senior Kendra Sabotka (Rutland, Vt.) finding the back of the net for Saint Anselm and Emma Blumenstock finishing for Roberts Wesleyan as the game got out to a 1-1 start.
- Over the next few minutes, the Hawks went on a run of three straight unassisted goals by Mawn, McDermod, and senior Samantha Rivet (Sudbury, Mass.) that increased their lead to 4-1.
- Sophomore Alyssa Hill (Brookline, N.H.) also scored late in the quarter for the Hawks, but the Redhawks responded as Blumenstock and Alison Dioguardi each scored before the end of the first to cut the deficit to 5-3.
- About five minutes into the second quarter, Dioguardi set up Gianna Parise for a player-up goal by Roberts Wesleyan, which made it a one-goal game.
- Saint Anselm extended its lead back up to a pair after goals by Mawn and freshman Lily Shea (Beverly, Mass.) that made it 7-5.
- The Redhawks continued to fight back and scored four consecutive goals in the final 4:30 of the first half. That run featured four different goal scorers, including Blumenstock who completed her hat trick and Annie Mulhall who added her second goal as the visitors took a 9-7 advantage.
- The Hawks did not panic despite facing their first deficit of the season. McDermod and junior Lucy Davis (Roswell, Ga.) settled the home team down with a goal apiece in the final minute of the quarter to tie the score at 9-9 right before halftime.
- Roberts Wesleyan scored two quick goals out of the intermission to regain a two-goal cushion. Mulhall scored her third of the game for the visitors to seal her hat trick.
- It took Saint Anselm a bit to get the offense back into rhythm to open the second half, but a little past the midway mark of the third, sophomore Caitlin Walsh (Chelmsford, Mass.) scored for the fourth straight game to make it 11-10.
- McDermod followed that up with a player-up goal for the Hawks with under two minutes left in the third and the score was deadlocked at 11-11 heading into the fourth.
- In the final period of play, sophomore Julia Rowley (Dover, N.H.) was clutch for Saint Anselm. She recorded all three of her points in the fourth quarter with two goals and an assist and the Hawks outscored their opposition, 4-1, over the final 15 minutes to secure the win.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Saint Anselm held a 35-26 advantage in total shots and a 26-22 edge in shots on goal over Roberts Wesleyan.
- The Redhawks won the battle in the center circle with 16 draw controls compared to just 13 for the Hawks. Mawn set a new career-high with seven draw controls to lead the Hawks.
- Ground balls were dead even with both teams scooping up 20 in the game. Junior Kate Collins (Foxboro, Mass.) led the Hawks by collecting a new career-best four ground balls.
- Roberts Wesleyan committed 18 turnovers in the game, while Saint Anselm had 14 giveaways.
- The Hawks defense caused nine turnovers, while the Redhawks defense forced seven turnovers. Eight different student-athletes tallied at least one caused turnover on the afternoon for the Hawks.
- Saint Anselm was perfect on clears and went 19 for 19 (100.0 percent). Roberts Wesleyan successfully cleared 13 times out of 17 attempts (76.5 percent).
- The Hawks scored on seven of their 14 free-position shots (50.0 percent). The Redhawks went four for six (66.7 percent) on free-position chances.
- The game featured 14 penalties with Saint Anselm earning five and Roberts Wesleyan earning nine. There were six green cards and eight yellow cards issued.
- The Hawks scored three player-up goals in the contest, while Roberts Wesleyan scored only once during the player-up advantage.
- Mawn and McDermod led Saint Anselm with three goals apiece. It was the third hat trick in the first four career games for McDermod, who leads the team and the NE10 with 12 goals this season. Mawn is now second on the squad and tied for second in the conference with nine goals after recording her second hat trick of the season.
- Rowley had a solid game for the Hawks as well and set a new career-high with three points, all in the fourth quarter, coming from two goals and an assist.
- Shea tallied a game-high four points after scoring twice and dishing out a pair of assists. Five other players scored and three other players had multi-point games for the Hawks.
- Blumenstock and Mulhall scored three goals each to lead Roberts Wesleyan. Five other players scored for the Redhawks.
- Senior goaltender Elizabeth Driscoll (Marblehead, Mass.) made 10 saves in goal for the Hawks to earn the win. It was her program record-setting 28th career goaltending victory.
- Shawna Lesmerises made 11 saves and allowed 15 goals in the cage for the Redhawks to earn the loss.
- This marked the second all-time meeting between these two programs. Saint Anselm improves to 2-0 all-time against Roberts Wesleyan in the series that began in 2024.
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