DOBBS FERRY, N.Y. – In its final non-conference game of the 2025-26 campaign, the No. 4 Saint Anselm College men's lacrosse team took down Mercy University, which is receiving votes in the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association Poll, by a final score of 14-7 on Wednesday afternoon.

Highlights

• Sophomore Matt Lemay paced the Hawks' offense with four points on two goals and two assists. He also accounted for three ground balls and caused one turnover.
• Junior Mark Boyle notched a hat trick as the lone Saint Anselm player to notch three goals.
• Junior Nathan Alberti notched his first collegiate goal, scoring twice in the victory. He also added one assist.
• Junior Ryan Weller and sophomore Ben Turpin each had three points with two goals to their credit.
• Senior Chris Claflin notched one goal and one assist while sophomore Eddie O'Brien and senior Nicholas Palermo each scored once.
• Senior Charlie Dean, sophomore Max Fowler, and freshman Dylan Bankowski each posted one assist. Bankowski accounted for five ground balls, which was second-best for the Hawks, followed by Fowler's four.
• Senior Quinn Gannon won 16-of-19 (84.2%) of faceoffs taken and secured 14 ground balls.
• Junior Evan Spillane went 3-for-5 (60.0%) on draws with two ground balls.
• Senior Tyler Vigeant produced a team-high three caused turnovers while scooping two ground balls.
• Junior Finn Granara made 13 stops in net, posting a .650 save percentage.
• The Hawks put 27 shots on target compared to the Mavericks' 20.
• Saint Anselm was perfect on all 24 clear attempts while limiting Mercy to 20 clears on 27 attempts (74.1%).
• The Hawks secured 40 ground balls and won 19-of-24 (79.2%) faceoffs.
• In a series that dates back to the 2010 season, the Hawks now hold a 4-5 record in all games played against Mercy. After losing the first five matchups (2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2017), Saint Anselm has won four straight contests against the Mavericks (2023, 2024, 2025, 2026.) Today's seven-goal win was the largest margin of victory in series history.

How it Happened

The Hawks jumped out to a 2-0 lead 9:47 into the first quarter as Turpin scored before assisting on Boyle's first goal. The Mavericks responded 40 seconds later to make it 2-1 before goals from Weller found the back of the net in the next minute. The first quarter was capped off by Turpin's second goal of the frame, coming on a behind-the-back finish on a feed from Dean.

A man-up goal 4:04 into the second quarter cut Mercy's deficit to two goals. Alberti and Lemay scored back-to-back unassisted goals for the Hawks in the span of 51 seconds to make it a 6-2 advantage. The Mavericks scored twice in the final five minutes, sandwiching a Claflin goal for the Hawks, to make it 7-4 in favor of the visitors at halftime.

Palermo was first to strike in the second half, finding the back of the net just 2:39 into the third to give the Hawks their four-goal lead back. After Mercy rattled off the games' next two goals, Lemay and Boyle scored to make it a 10-6 ballgame. Both teams traded goals in the final 30 seconds of the quarter as Mercy scored with 28 seconds left before O'Brien found twice 11 seconds later to make it 11-7 leading into the final 15 minutes of action.

The Hawks blanked the Mavericks for the rest of regulation as Granara made eight fourth-quarter saves. Boyle, Weller, and Alberti added goals in the fourth to secure Saint Anselm's fourth-straight win to open the campaign.

Up Next

The Hawks (4-0) will play host to Franklin Pierce University (1-4) in their Northeast 10 Conference opener on Saturday, March 21, with the opening faceoff set for noon from Grappone Stadium.

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