The NE10 is nothing short of a powerhouse conference when it comes to Division II men’s Lacrosse, with three programs ranked in the USILA national top-10 and a 74% out-of-conference winning percentage, which leads the country between D1 and D11 conferences. One of those programs is Saint Anselm, as the Hawks stand unbeaten at 5-0 and rank 2nd in the NE10 behind Adelphi.
The Hawks entered this season ranked #11 nationally and have continued to climb as their unbeaten streak grows. It began with an 11-7 win over Frostburg State. After going down 2-0 early, the Hawks ripped off 4 straight goals to go up 4-2. Saint A’s stayed in control the rest of the way, never relinquishing the lead to close out a victory on the road. 7 different players scored for the Hawks, with freshman Ben Turpin (Groveland, Mass.) leading the way with 4 goals.
Their next matchup saw Saint A’s defend home turf, as they defeated the nationally ranked #10 Bentley Falcons 10-6 for their home opener. Neither team found the back of the net for nearly the first five minutes, until sophomore Mark Boyle (Reading, Mass.) beat his defender and snuck a shot in the bottom right corner. The Hawks would then score 4 more unanswered goals to take a 5-0 lead going into halftime. 3 more goals to open the second half would see the Hawks increase the lead to 8-0, and despite a late rally by the Falcons, Saint A’s hung on to the lead to close out the game and snag their second game of the season, and first against another nationally ranked opponent.
Another home win against #14 ranked Mercy put the Hawks at 3-0 on the season. Both teams traded goals early on, leading to the score being 6-6 early in the second half. The Hawks responded by putting 4 unanswered goals on Mercy, with two each coming from senior Colin Mulvey (Reading, Mass.) and junior Chris Claflin (Newton, Mass). The Hawks maintained at least a 4-goal margin for the rest of the contest, outlasting a late push from Mercy and taking the victory with a score of 18-14.
The Hawks would travel to Waltham for their next matchup, as they took on #11 ranked Bentley for the second time this season. Freshman Eddie O’Brien (Franklin, Mass) lead the way with a career-high 5 points (3 goals, 2 assists) as five players finished with multiple goals and Saint A’s took care of business, winning 16-8. While the game started out close, with the contest being tied at 3-3 early, the Hawks proceeded to net 8 unanswered goals to widen the margin to 11-3, six of which came in the second quarter alone. A 12-4 margin at halftime proved too much for the Falcons to overcome, as the Hawks won their fourth straight game and notched another win over a ranked opponent.
In their most recent game, the Hawks hosted the Franklin Pierce Ravens, and would dominate wire-to-wire: the Ravens were held scoreless in the first half as Saint A’s notched 5 goals, and the second half was more of the same- 5 more goals from the Hawks and only 2 from the visiting Ravens, who struggled to get their offense going and were outshot 43-24 by Saint Anselm. The Hawks also held a 13-3 advantage in faceoffs. Freshman Matt Lemay (Westminster, Mass.) recorded his third consecutive game with 5 points, and the Hawks continued to climb the national rankings, now sitting at #5 in the nation and #2 in the NE10.
The Saint Anselm Men’s Lacrosse team will host NE10 rival Assumption on Friday, March 28th, and look to improve to 6-0 on the season. In an incredibly talent-dense conference, the Hawks have stood out, and will look to carry this success throughout the rest of the season.