BUFFALO, N.Y. – The Saint Anselm College women's lacrosse team got back in the win column on Thursday night after a dominant 21-3 non-conference win at Daemen. 12 student-athletes scored for the Hawks, including seven who finished with multiple goals. Senior
Kendra Sabotka (Rutland, Vt.) and junior
Brianna Fruci (Walpole, Mass.) led Saint Anselm with three goals apiece.
UP NEXT:
- Saint Anselm stays in the Buffalo area for another non-conference game against D'Youville on Saturday, March 22nd at 11:00 a.m.
Score: Saint Anselm 21, Daemen 3
Records: Saint Anselm (6-1), Daemen (2-5)
Location: Buffalo, N.Y. (Coyer Field)
Date: Thursday, March 20, 2025
Attendance: 76
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Daemen generated the first couple of scoring chances in the opening minutes of the game, but senior goaltender Elizabeth Driscoll (Marblehead, Mass.) made two early saves for Saint Anselm to keep the game scoreless.
- The Hawks opened the scoring midway through the first quarter. Fruci found the back of the net off a feed from sophomore Lucy Mawn (Harwich, Mass.) to make it 1-0.
- Saint Anselm tacked on three more goals in the following three minutes to increase their lead to 4-0. Mawn scored a free-position goal for the Hawks, while Fruci added her second and senior Samantha Rivet (Sudbury, Mass.) also scored.
- Shannen Calandra got Daemen on the board for their first goal with 3:12 left in the first, but Saint Anselm added two more goals in the final minute of the quarter. Senior Abigail Christmas (Elmira, N.Y.) scored from a free-position spot and 25 seconds later, Fruci completed her hat trick as the Hawks made it 6-1.
- The Hawks scored twice early in the second quarter as Mawn finished her first score just over a minute in. After a successful clear a few minutes later, Sabotka made it 8-1 with another shot and score.
- The Wildcats ended the string of Hawks goals with their second tally of the evening, this time coming from Cameron Briggs with 10 minutes remaining in the first half.
- The offense started to slow down over the next several minutes as the two teams combined for eight turnovers. With two minutes left in the half, sophomore Alyssa Hill (Brookline, N.H.) extended Saint Anselm's lead to 9-2 with a goal off a feed from Rivet.
- Daemen picked up their offensive pressure in the final two minutes of the half, but Driscoll made four late saves to preserve her team's seven-goal advantage at halftime.
- The third quarter belonged to the Hawks as they outscored the Wildcats, 7-0. They scored three times in the first three minutes, courtesy of Christmas, Sabotka, and freshman Ayla McDermod (Hanover, Mass.).
- McDermod added another later in the quarter, and senior Jaycie Balboni (Billerica, Mass.) produced two goals of her own with one coming from a free-position chance as Saint Anselm took a 16-2 lead into the final period.
- Five different players scored for the Hawks in the fourth quarter. The visitors started the period with the third goal of the game by Sabotka. Hill followed that up with a goal and at the 9:32 mark, freshman Olivia O'Rourke (Easton, Mass.) netted her first collegiate score.
- Ella Bouley added a free-position goal for Daemen with under eight minutes to play, marking their first goal since the first half (over 30 minutes of game time).
- Sophomores Lily Bouvier (Grafton, Mass.) and Kyra O'Connell (Dracut, Mass.) each scored in the final few minutes as Saint Anselm ran away with the dominant 21-3 victory.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Saint Anselm held a 31-20 advantage in total shots as well as a 23-14 edge in shots on goal over Daemen.
- The Hawks also won the battle in the center circle, winning 18 out of the game's 28 draw controls. Mawn led the Hawks with a game-high six draw controls.
- Daemen had the upper hand on ground balls, scooping up 12 compared to just four picked up by Saint Anselm.
- Both teams committed 15 turnovers in the game. The Hawks defense caused 14 of those turnovers, while the Wildcats defense forced 13 of those giveaways. Senior Alex McGrath (Natick, Mass.) led the Hawks with three caused turnovers.
- Saint Anselm was perfect on clears and went 12-12. Daemen went 4-5 (80.0%) on clear attempts.
- The Hawks scored three goals on five free-position shots. The Wildcats scored once on two free-position opportunities.
- The game featured eight penalties with Daemen earning five and Saint Anselm earning three. There were five green cards and three yellow cards issued. The Hawks scored two player-up goals in the contest.
- Fruci and Sabotka led Saint Anselm with three goals apiece. It was the first collegiate hat trick for Fruci.
- Five other players scored twice for the Hawks, including Mawn with two goals and two assists. O'Rourke added her first collegiate goal for Saint Anselm.
- Bouley, Briggs, and Calandra each scored once for Daemen.
- Driscoll made 12 saves in the cage for the Hawks and allowed just two goals in her sixth win of the season. She was replaced by freshman Aiko Fujita (Southold, N.Y.), who played the final 12 minutes.
- Molly Evans made seven saves and allowed all 21 goals between the pipes for the Wildcats in the loss.
- This marked the second ever meeting between these programs. Saint Anselm improves to 2-0 overall against Daemen with a win in each of the last two seasons.
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