Another season of Women’s Lacrosse is under way and Saint Anselm is off to a hot start. Boasting a 7-4 record overall with their latest victory coming at expense of #22 ranked New Haven. A convincing result for the Hawks, but the matchup everyone has circled is their meeting with #1 Pace University on April 24.
Jess Sullivan leads the Hawks with 30 goals so far in the campaign with Alison Ferullo not far behind sitting on 28 goals. Saint Anselm ranks 4th in the NE10 in terms of goals for, which is an encouraging statistic.
They have conceded 119 goals to opponents which makes for a goal differential of 35. The Hawks are shooting at a .454 clip thus far compared to their opponents shooting percentage of .418. All of these statistics are confidence builders and if they continue to trend up, a top finish in the NE10 is not out of the picture.
With 4 home games remaining, they have a chance to build on their 3-2 home record. A chance to make Grappone stadium a fortress before the postseason, which is vital to making a run. Last season the Hawks only lost one time on their home turf. Saint Anselm has shown they are equipped to face adversity.
They responded well to a 3 game losing streak where multiple thrashings took place, with a three game win streak of their own highlighted by an important win over SNHU. While there is no statistic for bouncing back with a win after a loss, it is one of the most important traits a team can have especially when in the postseason. Instead of looking at the postseason though, let’s look ahead to an all important NE10 matchup against Franklin Pierce.
The Ravens sit in 8th in the NE10 conference with a .444 winning percentage. Kayli Hoefs leads her team with 25 goals this season as well as 5 assists. If the Hawks can limit the Ravens’ main threats, they should be able to control the game and tack on another win. Anything can happen in the NE10 of course, but winning the games you are supposed to win makes the final stretch a lot easier.
The matchup everyone has circled on the calendar is Saint Anselm’s meeting with Pace University. Pace is currently ranked #1 and for good reason, as they have outscored opponents by a wide margin of 162-79. They average a hefty 37.3 shots per game while their opponents can only manage 20.2.
Pace nearly has three 30 goal scorers which makes their attack a threat from every single angle. This game will be the ultimate test for Saint Anselm to see how they fare against the conferences best. This game could also be a major turning point for the Hawks. If they can manage to win, or even give Pace a run for their money, it will be a major confidence booster heading into the postseason.
Building off of that, the Hawks final two games of the season are against opponents lower than them in the standings, giving them a chance to possibly change their seeding on the final day.
Overall, we have seen exciting lacrosse so far from the Hawks. They have faced their fair share of adversity which in the end will make them stronger. There are plenty of ebbs and flows to a season, but here is to hoping they can dominate this final stretch and gear up for an exciting postseason run.