As the winter season came to an end, the lacrosse teams began their practices in anticipation for the start of their 2017 spring seasons during Saint Anselm’s spring break. The men’s and women’s teams were on the road during break. Both teams fell in their first games of the season.

The men traveled to Mercy College in Dobbs Ferry, NY to face off against the Mavericks in the first game of the season on March 4. The Hawks competed in a very close game but game up short, losing 11-10.

The loss against the Mavericks was not the ideal start of the season for the Hawks. Saint Anselm took an early lead during the first quarter but Mercy answered back and scored five consecutive goals to lead the game 7-5 at halftime. The Hawks were down by two in the final quarter and Sophomore Patrick Sweeney found the back of the net for his third goal of the game to bring the score to 11-10.

Unfortunately, the Hawks were unable to pull off a win even though they led Mercy in shots during the game. The Crier caught up with Junior Zak Gentile who had this to say about his team’s first performance: “Our team fought the entirety of the game. Unfortunately, we had too many mental mistakes in the end. The team has high hopes for the rest of the season.”

The men hosted their first home game on March 10 against American International. The Hawks fired back with gusto and squashed the Yellow Jackets with a final score of 18-2. Senior Mark Vitello and Sophomore Patrick Sweeney each scored four goals during the game.

The Hawks had a terrific performance, leading the game in shots 59-14. By the end of the third quarter, they led the game 15-1. The win was a step in the right direction to increase their record to 1-1 so far. It was a solid performance and the Hawks look to keep the fire going throughout the rest of the season. Their game scheduled for March 15 against Adelphi has been postponed due to inclement weather.

The women spent their spring break in Florida and played four games over the course of a week. Their first game vs Florida Tech took place on March 4. Unfortunately, the Hawks fell to the Panthers in a hard first loss, ending in a score of 14-7. Junior Emma Palumbo earned a hat trick with three consecutive goals coming in the second half.  Saint Anselm was simply outplayed and look to put the loss behind them.

The Hawks earned their first win of the season on March 6, beating Young Harris 11-10. The Hawks found themselves down by five goals in the second half but were able to answer back and bring the game into overtime. The final goal was scored with 36 seconds left in the first half of overtime when Palumbo found the back. Saint Anselm pounded the opposing net all game long with 40 shots. Saint Anselm rallied together and fought hard in their strong performance to earn their first win.

The next stop of the Florida stay was to the University of Tampa on March 9. The Hawks kept the fire from their previous win going and beat the Spartans 17-10. Junior Meaghan Sheehy matched the program record with six goals and four assists and helped lead her team to victory to increase their record to 2-1.

The final stop for the Hawks in Florida was their game against Slippery Rock in Davenport.

The game was incredibly close and the Hawks were up and down throughout its course. Neither side held more than a two goal lead at any point. The game went into overtime and resulted in a Hawks loss with a final score of 13-12.

The women sit at 2-2 for the season thus far. Conference play was scheduled to begin on March 15 against Stonehill in the first home game of Saint Anselm’s season.  Due to Snowstorm Stella ravaging the northeast the game was postponed to Thursday, March 16 at 4 p.m.