Saint Anselm College

MANCHESTER, N.H. – The Saint Anselm College men's lacrosse team saw its 2026 season come to a close on Sunday afternoon, falling to Saint Michael's College by a 9-8 final score in the First Round of the NCAA Division II Championship at Grappone Stadium.

The Hawks conclude the season with an 11-3 overall record, while the Purple Knights improve to 10-5 and advance to the NCAA Quarterfinals.

Highlights

• Sophomores Eddie O'Brien and Matt Lemay each netted two goals for the Hawks.
• Sophomore Ben Turpin and senior Charlie Dean each added a goal and an assist.
• Juniors Mark Boyle and Ryan Weller each found the back of the net for Saint Anselm.
• Senior Quinn Gannon went 13-for-19 (68.4%) at the faceoff X with a team-high nine ground balls.
• Junior Finn Granara made 10 saves in goal for the Hawks.
• Saint Anselm held advantages in shots (43-26), ground balls (42-23), and faceoff wins (14-6).

How it Happened

Saint Michael's struck first with a pair of opening-quarter goals before Boyle answered off a feed from Dean with 6:15 left in the first quarter. The Purple Knights responded minutes later, but Lemay brought the Hawks back within one at 3-2 with 3:24 remaining in the frame.

A late Saint Michael's tally pushed the visitors ahead 4-2 after one quarter before the Purple Knights extended their advantage to three at the 9:26 mark of the second quarter. Saint Anselm responded with back-to-back goals from Dean and Weller to trim the deficit to 5-4 heading into halftime.

The Purple Knights regained momentum in the third quarter, scoring three times in an 8:18 stretch to build their largest lead of the afternoon at 8-4. O'Brien halted the run with 3:38 to play in the quarter, keeping the Hawks within striking distance entering the final 15 minutes.

Saint Michael's pushed the lead back to four at 9-5 early in the fourth quarter before Saint Anselm mounted one final rally. O'Brien scored off an assist from Turpin with 6:21 remaining before Turpin added an unassisted tally less than two minutes later to make it a two-goal game.

Lemay found the back of the net with 1:40 to play to bring the Hawks within 9-8, but Saint Michael's recorded a late successful clear off of a Saint Anselm turnover and successfully ran out the remaining clock to secure the victory.