WALTHAM, Mass. – Freshman
Eddie O'Brien (Franklin, Mass.) had a breakout night with three goals and two assists for a career-high five points as the nationally ranked #6 Saint Anselm College men's lacrosse team earned a 16-8 road win at #11 Bentley in its Northeast-10 Conference (NE10) opener on Tuesday night. O'Brien, who recorded his first collegiate hat trick, was one of five student-athletes to finish with multiple goals in the win for the Hawks.
UP NEXT:
- Saint Anselm is on the road to take on Franklin Pierce in NE10 action on Saturday, March 22nd at 12:00 p.m. in Rindge, N.H.
Score: #6 Saint Anselm 16, #11 Bentley 8
Records: #6 Saint Anselm (4-0, 1-0 NE10), #11 Bentley (3-2, 1-1 NE10)
Location: Waltham, Mass. (Bentley Stadium - Peter Yetten Field)
Date: Tuesday, March 18, 2025
Attendance: 212
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- For the third straight game, Saint Anselm scored the first three goals to take an early 3-0 lead. Junior Maverick Lyon (Albany, Ore.) opened the scoring just over a minute in and sophomore Mark Boyle (Reading, Mass.) followed that up with a goal 39 seconds later. Senior Will Andrews (Cumberland, R.I.) scored the third Hawks goal with a bounce shot midway through the first quarter.
- Bentley responded with three goals a little more than three minutes apart to tie the score. Will Adams, David Dagnon, and Nick McGovern each scored an unassisted goal for the Falcons to make it 3-3.
- Boyle answered right back with his second goal as the Hawks regained the lead. He ran past his defender from behind the cage and fired a shot that beat the goaltender five-hole.
- Just before the end of the first quarter, O'Brien found the back of the net to give the visitors a 5-3 edge. He spun between two defenders and finished with a high bouncer through contact for his first tally of the night.
- Saint Anselm could not be stopped on offense as they rattled off six straight goals in the second quarter, marking eight unanswered scores. Freshman Matt Lemay (Westminster, Mass.) caught fire during that 10-minute stretch for the Hawks with goals on two deep shots in addition to a pair of assists, which helped his team extend its lead to 11-3.
- Kevin Sheahan got one back for Bentley with less than five minutes left in the first half, but senior Joe Lombardi (Holliston, Mass.) canceled that out with a rip to the top shelf as Saint Anselm maintained a 12-4 advantage at halftime.
- The offense started to slow down at the start of the second half. Neither team scored for the first six minutes of the third quarter, but junior Charlie Dean (North Andover, Mass.) quickly ended the drought with his first goal of the season for the Hawks. Lyon added his third off a rebound in front just over two minutes later as the visitors increased their lead to 10 goals.
- The Falcons ended the quarter strongly with three unanswered goals. Gagnon potted his second of the game, while Nathan Alviti and Garrett Witt also scored as the home team trimmed the deficit down to 14-7 entering the fourth.
- Just went the momentum was starting to shift in favor of Bentley, sophomore Evan Spillane (East Longmeadow, Mass.) quickly slammed the door on them for Saint Anselm. He gave his team a huge jolt after winning the opening faceoff to start the fourth, scooping up a loose ball, and then driving straight to the cage, where he finished his first goal of the season to make it 15-7.
- McGovern got one back for the Falcons a few minutes later, but they failed to score for the final 11 minutes of the game. O'Brien put the exclamation point on the victory for the Hawks, scoring his third goal of the night with 3:30 remaining to secure the hat trick and the 16-8 win.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Saint Anselm held a 40-33 advantage over Bentley in total shots, with double digit shot totals in three of the four quarters.
- The Hawks maintained a slight edge in the center circle with a 14-11 lead at the faceoff X. Spillane led Saint Anselm by going 13-23 (56.5%) on faceoffs.
- Ground balls were even with the two teams picking up 25 apiece. Dalton MacKinnon posted a game-high seven ground balls for the Falcons, while Spillane led the Hawks with a team-best six ground balls.
- Both sides committed 14 turnovers in the contest. Bentley's defense caused six of those turnovers, while Saint Anselm's defense forced four of those giveaways.
- Saint Anselm was perfect on clear attempts, going 17-17. Bentley was 15-18 (83.3%) on clear attempts.
- The game featured six penalties with the Falcons earning five of them. The Hawks were only able to score one man-up goal despite their five extra man opportunities.
- O'Brien had a career-night for Saint Anselm with three goals and two assists for five points. Joining him with a five-point game was Lemay, who finished with two goals and three assists that all came in the first half.
- Three other players had multi-goal games for the Hawks: Lyon with three goals, and Boyle and Lombardi with two goals each. Nine players scored and 11 recorded at least one point for the Hawks.
- Gagnon and McGovern recorded two goals apiece to lead Bentley.
- Sophomore goaltender Finn Granara (Reading, Mass.) made eight saves and posted a .500 save percentage in his eighth career win between the pipes for the Hawks.
- Ryan Bordiere made 12 saves and allowed 16 goals in the loss for the Falcons.
- This marked the 35th all-time meeting between these two programs. Saint Anselm improves to 15-20 overall against Bentley in the series that began in 1994. The Hawks have now won the last four games against the Falcons dating back to last season.
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