SAVANNAH, Ga. – The Saint Anselm College women's lacrosse team suffered its first loss of the season on Tuesday evening to nationally ranked #7 Embry-Riddle by a final score of 13-12. The Hawks battled back from multiple deficits in the game, and trailed by as many as six goals in the first half, but their late comeback effort fell just short. Senior
Abigail Christmas (Elmira, N.Y.) notched career-bests of four goals and five points in the loss for Saint Anselm.
UP NEXT:
- Saint Anselm heads to Amherst, N.Y. for a non-conference game against Daemen on Thursday, March 20th at 6:00 p.m.
Score: Saint Anselm 12, #7 Embry-Riddle 13
Records: Saint Anselm (5-1), #7 Embry-Riddle (8-1)
Location: Savannah, Ga. (Memorial Stadium)
Date: Tuesday, March 18, 2025
Attendance: 50
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Embry-Riddle scored the first four goals of the game to jump out to an early 4-0 lead. Eliana Enners scored two of those goals for the Eagles just over a minute apart.
- A little more than 30 seconds after giving up the fourth goal, Saint Anselm responded with their first score of the evening to get on the board. Senior Samantha Rivet (Sudbury, Mass.) set up classmate Kendra Sabotka (Rutland, Vt.) to make it 4-1.
- The two teams went back and forth over the final few minutes of the first quarter. The Eagles found the back of the net twice more courtesy of Kenley Zeruto and Ava Rogala, but freshman Ayla McDermod (Hanover, Mass.) scored for the Hawks as they trailed entering the second quarter, 6-2.
- Less than 30 seconds into the second period, Enners scored a player-up goal for Embry-Riddle to complete the hat trick. Rogala added her second goal a minute later as the Eagles extended their advantage to 8-2.
- Saint Anselm answered in a big way, scoring six unanswered goals to tie the score up at 8-8 right before halftime. Junior Lucy Davis (Roswell, Ga.) and sophomore Lucy Mawn (Harwich, Mass.) both scored twice for the Hawks during that stretch, with Davis beating the buzzer for her second score.
- Rogala and Caitlin Gavin scored consecutive goals for the Eagles to start the second half as they regained a two-goal cushion.
- Late in the third quarter, Christmas scored her second of the evening off a feed from sophomore Alyssa Hill (Brookline, N.H.) to cut the deficit down to a goal.
- Embry-Riddle countered with three goals of their own in the final 2:30 of the third. Rogala provided her team with a player-up goal and also picked up assist during that run as the Eagles took a 13-9 lead entering the fourth.
- Facing a four-goal deficit, Saint Anselm attempted a late comeback. After several minutes without any scoring to open the final quarter, Christmas notched her third score off another dish from Hill to make it a 13-10 game with 7:26 left.
- The Hawks continued to attack and had the Eagles on their heels. With 1:10 remaining, Christmas fed Hill for another Saint Anselm score as the margin dwindled to just two.
- The visitors won the ensuing draw control and took it down to the offensive zone, but McDermod's shot bounced just over the cross-bar and out of play.
- Christmas added one final goal, her fourth of the day, with three seconds on the clock, but the Hawks ran out of time and ultimately fell, 13-12.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Saint Anselm held a 31-29 advantage over Embry-Riddle in total shots. The Hawks posted 14 shots in the fourth quarter.
- The Eagles won the battle in the center circle, winning 20 out of the game's 27 draw controls. Enners had a game-high 10 draw controls for the Eagles, while McDermod recorded four draw controls to lead the Hawks.
- Saint Anselm had the upper hand on ground balls, scooping up 24 compared to 22 picked up by Embry-Riddle. Christmas and Rivet each picked up four ground balls to lead the Hawks.
- The Eagles committed 22 turnovers in the game, while the Hawks committed 15.
- Saint Anselm's defense caused 10 of those turnovers, while Embry-Riddle's defense forced only three giveaways.
- The Eagles were perfect on clears and went 11-11. The Hawks were 18-21 (85.7%) on clear attempts.
- Embry-Riddle scored twice out of three free-position shots. Saint Anselm was held scoreless on their only free-position attempt.
- The game featured five penalties with the Hawks earning four of them. There were four green cards and one yellow cards issued. The Eagles scored two player-up goals.
- Christmas led Saint Anselm with a career-high four goals and one assist for a career-best five points.
- Davis and Mawn finished with two goals each for the Hawks, while four other players scored.
- Hill scored once and dished out a career-high four assists for her third career five-point game.
- Rogala led Embry-Riddle with four goals and an assist for five points. Enners scored three goals, while Natalie Jansky added two for the Eagles.
- Senior goaltender Elizabeth Driscoll (Marblehead, Mass.) made 10 saves for the third straight game in what was her first loss of the season for the Hawks.
- Ella-Rae Cox and Aubrey Fixen played one half apiece between the pipes for the Eagles and combined to make five saves. Fixen earned the win and allowed only four goals.
- This marked the fourth all-time meeting between these programs. Saint Anselm falls to 1-3 overall against Embry-Riddle in the series that began in 2020.
STAY CONNECTED:
