The Men’s lacrosse team traveled down to Garden City, New York this past weekend for a contest to take on number three Adelphi coming off a 7-5 loss to number 1 Le Moyne. 

Entering the game, the Hawks were ranked 11th in Division II, coming in at 3-1. The Hawks looked poised for a battle with one of the strongest teams, not only in the Northeast 10, but the entire nation. 278 people were in attendance on the brisk Saturday afternoon. 

From the beginning faceoff, the match up was a battle. Adelphi found the back of the net three times. However, Saint A’s would not take this lying down, quickly firing back, with Jack Andrews finding the twine. After one quarter of play, Saint Anselm trailed 5-2, as the number three team in the nation came out to a hot start. The competitive nature of the game continued into the second quarter, when the Hawks hit paydirt five times. Sean Tomaszewski notably scored twice within the quarter. As the first half came to a conclusion, The Hawks trailed 8-7.

But, coming out of the break, Adelphi came ready to go. The Hawks quickly found themselves down 12-7. Yet again, the Hawks refused to roll over, scoring three goals back to back to back to end the third. This rally brought the game back within one. But, entering the fourth the Hawks still trailed. As time began to expire, the Hawks put the pressure on. Down by one, the Hawks held possession in the Offensive end. Attempting to put the screws on Adelphi, Saint Anselm moved the ball around, eventually getting a shot off. But, the shot was saved by Adelphi’s goalie, Dylan Renner. The Hawks would narrowly lose the game, the final score being 15-14.

Saint Anselm, despite the loss, had strong scoring performances from three attack men. Junior Jack Robinson, graduate student Sean Tomazewski, and sophomore Noah Larson all recorded four goals in the contest. Strong defensive play from Junior Ryan Slattery and Senior Kyle Fischer helped to keep the Hawks competitive in the contest.

The Hawks have kept a strong mentality each and every day, whether that be watching film, at team lifts, during practices or throughout games. This group of guys knows that hard work, determination and a positive attitude are all huge parts of finding team success. 

“Our mindset going into practice is definitely taking it day by day and bringing the energy. We always say if we get at least 1% better everyday, then come the end of the season, we’ll have a huge return on that investment. Focusing on ourselves and what we can control is honestly one of the biggest aspects heading into our games,” said Junior defensive mid, Will Harvey.  

The Hawks will play next on Wednesday, March 30th, when they take on Wilmington (Delaware) in Springfield, Massachusetts, where they hope to bounce back after two straight division losses. The number 11 team in division 2 will hope to use some momentum they have gained from the tight game with Adelphi to propel themselves into the middle of the season.

“This is the closest and most skilled team I’ve been a part of. Our goal for this season is nothing less than a national championship. We have the guys in the locker room to do it,” said Junior goaltender, David Olsen.