BUFFALO, N.Y. – Freshman
Ayla McDermod (Hanover, Mass.) set new career-highs with five goals and six points as the Saint Anselm College women's lacrosse team picked up a non-conference win over D'Youville on Saturday by a final score of 17-12. McDermod led all scorers and was one of four players to record at least three goals for the Hawks, who improved to 7-1 overall this season with the win.
UP NEXT:
- Saint Anselm returns home and resumes Northeast-10 Conference (NE10) play against Saint Michael's on Wednesday, March 26th at 7:00 p.m.
Score: Saint Anselm 17, D'Youville 12
Records: Saint Anselm (7-1), D'Youville (2-4)
Location: Buffalo, N.Y. (Dobson Field)
Date: Saturday, March 22, 2025
Attendance: 69
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- D'Youville's Madison Handley opened the scoring with a player-up goal about five minutes in to give her team a 1-0 lead.
- Saint Anselm responded by scoring the next three goals in less than two minutes to jump in front. Seniors Jaycie Balboni (Billerica, Mass.), Samantha Rivet (Sudbury, Mass.), and Kendra Sabotka (Rutland, Vt.) all scored unassisted goals to make it 3-1.
- The Saints answered right back with three straight goals of their own to regain the lead. Jillian Bernas scored, while Emily Fischer and Handley both scored a player-up goal for the home team.
- Sabotka and Balboni struck again for the Hawks with their second goals of the quarter that came 20 seconds apart as they pulled back in the lead, 5-4.
- With about a minute left in the first quarter, Handley finished off her third player-up goal of the day, which tied it up at 5-5.
- After a back-and-forth opening quarter, Saint Anselm created some separation in the second thanks to some stout defense. They did not allow a single shot on goal in the period and outscored D'Youville, 5-1, to take a 10-6 advantage at halftime.
- Balboni scored her third and Rivet scored her second for the Hawks in the second quarter, while McDermod added a pair of unassisted tallies including one with a minute left before the break.
- Early in the third quarter, Rivet secured her hat trick for the Hawks, but Handley scored her fourth at the other end and Madison Buck also found the back of the net for the Saints as they cut the deficit down to 11-8.
- After senior Abigail Christmas (Elmira, N.Y.) provided Saint Anselm with a player-up score, McDermod produced two straight goals in just over a minute to extend the lead to 14-8.
- Iylan Fowler got one back for D'Youville with 23 seconds left in the third, but Saint Anselm took a five-goal edge into the fourth quarter.
- Senior goaltender Elizabeth Driscoll (Marblehead, Mass.) helped the Hawks preserve that lead with a couple of timely saves to start the final period of play.
- Saint Anselm then added three more goals midway through the quarter to all but seal it. Sophomore Julia Rowley (Dover, N.H.) started the fourth quarter with a goal. Sabotka added her third just 14 seconds later and McDermod scored her fifth goal with 6:21 remaining as the Hawks increased their lead to 17-9.
- D'Youville ended up scoring three times in the final five minutes, which included Handley picking up her fifth goal, but it was not enough as Saint Anselm earned the win by a final score of 17-12.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Saint Anselm held a 39-23 advantage in total shots as well as a 29-18 edge in shots on goal.
- The Hawks also won the battle in the center circle, winning 19 out of the game's 33 draw controls (57.6%). Rivet and sophomore Lucy Mawn (Harwich, Mass.) led the Hawks with seven draw controls apiece.
- Ground balls were just about even as Saint Anselm maintained a 16-15 lead in that category. Junior Julia Marsden (Norfolk, Mass.) led the Hawks with four ground balls.
- D'Youville committed 24 turnovers in the game, while Saint Anselm had 19 giveaways. The Hawks defense caused seven of those turnovers, while the Saints defense caused only five. Rivet led the Hawks and matched her career-best with four caused turnovers.
- The Saints went 8-12 (66.7%) on clear attempts, while the Hawks went 6-7 (85.7%).
- The game featured 12 penalties with Saint Anselm earning 10 and D'Youville earning two. There were eight green cards and four yellow cards issued.
- As a result, there were six player-up goals scored in the contest, five of which came from the Saints.
- McDermod led all players with five goals and six points for Saint Anselm, both of which were career-highs. Balboni, Rivet, and Sabotka scored three times each for the Hawks.
- McDermod now leads Saint Anselm and is tied for seventh in the NE10 with 20 goals this year. Sabotka ranks second on the team with 22 points and is tied for second on the squad with 16 goals after recording her fourth hat trick of the year.
- Handley finished with five goals and an assist for six points to lead D'Youville.
- Driscoll made six saves in the cage to earn the win for the Hawks.
- Brinn Stworzydlak earned the loss after making 12 saves and allowing all 17 goals in between the pipes for the Saints.
- This marked the third all-time meeting between these two programs. Saint Anselm improves to 3-0 in the series against D'Youville that began in 2023.
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