MANCHESTER, N.H. – The nationally ranked #3 Saint Anselm College men's lacrosse team held on for a 10-7 win over Southern New Hampshire in Northeast-10 Conference (NE10) action on Wednesday night. Freshman
Matt Lemay Westminster, Mass.) notched his ninth straight multi-goal game after scoring three times in the victory for the Hawks, who improved to 10-0 overall and 7-0 in NE10 play.
UP NEXT:
- Saint Anselm travels to Pleasantville, N.Y. to take on #8 Pace in the final game of the regular season on Saturday, April 19th at 2:30 p.m.
Score: #3 Saint Anselm 10, Southern New Hampshire 7
Records: #3 Saint Anselm (10-0, 7-0 NE10), Southern New Hampshire (4-8, 2-5 NE10)
Location: Manchester, N.H. (Grappone Stadium)
Date: Wednesday, April 16, 2025
Attendance: 209
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Junior Chris Claflin (Newton, Mass.) got the scoring started less than two minutes in for Saint Anselm with a shot and score off a feed from senior Joe Lombardi (Holliston, Mass.).
- After forcing a turnover, Southern New Hampshire equalized with Patrick Roy scoring an unassisted goal that made it 1-1.
- The Hawks regained the lead 39 seconds later as Lombardi picked out Lemay for his first goal of the night.
- After winning the ensuing faceoff, Saint Anselm took it into the offensive zone and controlled possession for almost two minutes before they found the back of the net again. This time, Claflin set up Lombardi for the goal to make it 3-1 in favor of the home team.
- The Hawks continued to get looks at the offensive end. They outshot the Penmen over the final seven minutes of the first quarter, 10-2.
- With four seconds left in the first, Claflin found senior Colin Mulvey (Reading, Mass.) on top of the crease. His shot beat the buzzer and gave Saint Anselm a 4-1 edge entering the second.
- Just over a minute into the second quarter, Joey Gallo responded for Southern New Hampshire with a goal that made it 4-2.
- The Hawks' offense then went cold for a bit as they failed to find a goal for the first eight minutes of the second period. Sophomore goaltender Finn Granara (Reading, Mass.) kept the home team's two-goal lead intact, however, with three saves in a 36-second span midway through the quarter.
- That allowed Saint Anselm to build on their lead as Lombardi found junior Maverick Lyon (Albany, Ore.) for a goal with 6:43 remaining in the second.
- PJ Cunningham added one final goal for Southern New Hampshire with two minutes left in the half, but Saint Anselm maintained a 5-3 advantage at halftime.
- Less than two minutes into the second half, Lemay potted his second goal of the night off another feed from Claflin as the Hawks increased their lead to 6-3.
- Over the final six minutes of the third quarter, Saint Anselm generated three unassisted goals to extend the lead to six. Lemay secured the hat trick with his third goal of the game, while Mulvey recorded his second and senior Will Andrews (Cumberland, R.I.) also scored for the Hawks.
- Saint Anselm's defense had an excellent third quarter as they held Southern New Hampshire scoreless with only one shot on goal and two shots total.
- The Penmen ended their scoreless drought with their first goal of the second half about three minutes into the fourth quarter as Aiden Blouin scored to make it 9-4.
- The Hawks attempted the game's next four shots, but they were unable to find the back of the net as Lombardi had a shot saved, while Claflin hit the post.
- With eight minutes left in the game, Sean Dwyer added another goal as Southern New Hampshire cut the deficit to 9-5.
- Two minutes later, sophomore Mark Boyle (Reading, Mass.) provided Saint Anselm with an insurance goal, scoring off a pass from Claflin to put the Hawks back in front by five.
- The Penmen went on to score twice in the last two minutes, but they ultimately ran out of time to mount a comeback as the Hawks held on for the win to remain undefeated.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:
- Saint Anselm held a 46-30 lead in total shots in addition to a 22-13 edge in shots on goal.
- The Hawks dominated at the faceoff X and won 17 out of 20 faceoffs (85.0%). Junior Quinn Gannon (Scituate, Mass.) matched his career-high by winning all 17 faceoffs for the Hawks.
- Saint Anselm finished with a massive advantage and nearly doubled up Southern New Hampshire in ground balls, 42-23. Gannon matched his career-best in that area as well with 13 ground balls to lead the Hawks.
- The Penmen committed 17 turnovers in the game compared to 16 committed by the Hawks.
- Defensively, the Penmen defense caused eight of those turnovers, while the Hawks defense caused five giveaways.
- On clear attempts, Saint Anselm went 15-20 (75.0%) and Southern New Hampshire went 18-23 (78.3%).
- There were only three penalties called in the contest, with the Hawks being whistled for two of them. The two teams combined to go 0-3 on extra man opportunities.
- Lemay recorded a game-high three goals for Saint Anselm, good for his ninth straight multi-goal game. He is currently leading the team with 25 goals this spring, which is tied for 10th in the NE10.
- Mulvey added a pair of scores in his fourth consecutive multi-goal game for the Hawks. His 21 goals on the year are the second-most on the squad.
- Claflin contributed with a goal and four assists for Saint Anselm, while Lombardi produced a goal and a career-high three helpers. Claflin now leads the team with 24 assists (fourth in NE10) and 35 points (11th in NE10) this season.
- PJ Cunningham led Southern New Hampshire with two goals. Five other players scored for the Penmen, including three who finished with multi-point performances.
- Granara made five saves between the pipes and allowed only two goals to earn his 10th win of the season for the Hawks. He exited the game late in the first half with an injury.
- Junior Naish Kelly (North Hampton, N.H.) replaced Granara and made one stop in the final 32:26 of the game to help preserve the victory.
- Matt Roy made 12 saves and allowed all 10 goals in the loss for the Penmen.
- This marked the 34th all-time meeting between these two programs. Saint Anselm improves to 24-10 against Southern New Hampshire/New Hampshire College in the series that began in 1994. The Hawks have now won 11 straight games against the Penmen and have not lost to their cross-city rivals since 2016.
STAY CONNECTED:
