1 March 2025
The Saint Anselm women’s lacrosse team is off to a white-hot start to begin their 2025 campaign, winning their first 3 games of the season in dominant fashion and then collecting their 4th win against Roberts Weslyan by a score of 15-12 to improve to 4-0.
So far this season, the women’s lacrosse team is leading the NE10 in goals per game (with 18) and rank in the top 3 in shot percentage, penalty killing percentage, assists per game, and shots on goal per game. This statistical dominance has put them in a tie for first place in the conference with Pace, Assumption, and Southern Connecticut, though only Pace has played the same number of games. Additionally, the Hawks have entered the NCAA DII national rankings and currently sit at the #24 spot.
The women’s lacrosse team began their season with a wire-to-wire dismantling of American International, winning by a whopping margin of 24-4. tying the program record for goals in a game. The season opener featured hat tricks from four different players: senior Kendra Sabotka (Rutland, Vt.), sophomores Alyssa Hill (Brookline, NH) and Lucy Mawn (Harwich, MA) and freshman Ayla McDermod (Hanover, MA). The Hawks scored 10 goals in the first quarter alone and cruised to victory, which showed up on the stat sheet- the Hawks outshot AIC 42-10 (34-7 in shots on goal) and controlled the ground ball battle by a margin of 18-5. While the offensive dominance is usually the first to pop off the page, the Hawks defense stifled the Yellowjackets and forced AIC to commit 26 turnovers.
In their next matchup, the women’s lacrosse team defeated the Purple Knights of Saint Michael’s, 16-4, led by senior Kendra Sabotka’s second hat trick in a row. It was another dominant performance, as the Hawks scored 8 unanswered goals to start the contest before the Purple Knights finally got on the board with only 4 minutes left in the half. It was a similar affair in their matchup with Franklin Pierce, as the Hawks cruised to a 17-3 victory over the Ravens. Saint A’s scored sporadically in the early going to take a 9-1 lead at half (it looked to be only 6-1 before the Hawks scored 3 goals in the final 26 seconds of the half), and picked up right where they left off in the second- scoring 8 more goals while limiting the Ravens to only 2 of their own. Notably, senior goaltender Elizabeth Driscoll (Marblehead, MA) tied the program record for goaltender wins with 27, which has stood for over a decade.
The women’s lacrosse team would face their first true test of the season against the Roberts Wesleyan Redhawks on February 28th, who were the first team to hold a lead against Saint A’s at any point this season. The matchup started with the Hawks going up 4-1, but the Redhawks battled back to take a 9-7 lead with only a few minutes left in the half. Saint A’s remained cool and collected despite the deficit, and showed they were made of tougher stuff- Alya McDermod and junior Lucy Davis (Roswell, GA) each scored a goal to tie the game at 9 going into the half. To open the second half, the Redhakws again poured on the pressure and went up 2 goals at 11-9, but slightly past the midway mark of the 3rd quarter, they found their rhythm and tied the game at 11 heading into the 4th quarter. The Hawks buckled down in crunch time, as sophomore Julia Rowley (Dover, NH) recorded two goals and an assist to power Saint A’s to victory by a final score of 15-12.
This run of form has led to multiple athletes earning accolades, with freshman Alya McDermod being named NE10 Rookie of the Week twice and senior goaltender Elizabeth Driscoll notching Goaltender of the Week and setting a program record with 28 goaltending victories. The Hawks have a break in action before their next contest, as they face the Southern Connecticut State Owls on March 13th.