The Saint Anselm Women’s Lacrosse team is entering their final stretch of their regular season hoping to close out their 2025 campaign on a high note. After a hot start saw the Hawks standing at 8-1 through nine games, a difficult stretch of three nationally ranked opponents had Saint A’s in a losing skid. This rough patch broke against SNHU on April 9th and the Hawks returned to their winning ways, and enter their final contest of the regular season riding a 3-game winning streak.
The NE10 is known nationally as a powerhouse conference for lacrosse on both the men’s and women’s sides- the Saint Anselm Men’s lacrosse team vaulted to 3rd in all of Division II after a win over reigning DII national champion Adelphi Panthers, while the women’s team has been ranked within the national top 25 at multiple points during the season. Competition is fierce, meaning that any matchup with a conference opponent is likely going to be a tough one.
This proved true over the last four contests for the women’s lacrosse team- they fell in close games to #10 ranked Adelphi and #18 Bentley, and had a rough showing against #24 New Haven. However, the Hawks never lost sight of their goals, and fought hard in each of these losses.
Against Bentley, the Hawks found themselves in a competitive matchup, with the score tied 4-4 early, but a flurry of offense from the Falcons lead to a 7-4 deficit going into halftime. Despite losing 13-9, the effort never left the Hawks, as both teams went scoreless in the final 10 minutes of the game. Despite having difficulty finding the back of the net, defensive intensity stayed high.
In their matchup with New Haven Chargers, the Hawks were once again tied early, this time at 3-3 in the first quarter, but faced a similar 7-3 deficit at halftime. Unfortunately, the Chargers erupted in the second half and scored 7 unanswered goals, going up 14-3 entering the fourth quarter. Even when faced with an insurmountable 17-3 deficit, the Hawks played hard until time ran out, scoring 3 goals in the final 5 minutes.
The following contest against #10 ranked Adelphi was a much more closely contested matchup, and controlled the scoring early, going up 4-1 in the first quarter. At halftime the Hawks had a 6-4 lead over the Panthers, and increased the gap to 3 by going up 8-5 off of goals from senior Abigal Christmas (Elmira, NY) and sophomore Alyssa Hill (Brookline, NH). In the fourth quarter, the score was again knotted up- this time at 11-11. Adelphi then rattled off 4 straight goals to put the game away, and the Hawks were unable to respond, falling 15-12 to the #10 ranked Panthers.
This rough stretch would finally break at home against SNHU, as the Hawks dominated wire-to-wire against their crosstown foes to return to the win column. Senior Abigal Christmas led all scorers with a season-high 6 goals as the women’s lacrosse team exited Grappone Stadium with a 17-6 victory. Saint A’s had four players score multiple goals, and scored 6 unanswered goals over a 23 minute period from the end of the third to the end of the fourth quarter. It was a long-overdue win for the Hawks, and a testament to the resiliency and toughness this team has- a three-game losing streak can be tough to shake, but the Hawks did exactly what they needed to do- kept their heads down, focused on the next matchup, and played hard.
The Hawks would continue their winning ways against Franklin Pierce with a blowout victory at home on senior day. It was a wire-to wire victory, as Saint A’s went up 9-0 within the first 10 minutes and never looked back. An impressive 14-3 lead at halftime proved too much for the Ravens to overcome, as the Hawks left Grappone Stadium with a 21-8 win. Seniors Abigail Christmas and Kendra Sabotka led the way, with Sabotka notching a career-high six goals and Christmas adding four of her own.
In their most recent contest, the Hawks emerged victorious in a nail-biter against Assumption. Despite holding a 7-2 lead at halftime, Assumption was able to stick around and crawl back into the game in the second half. With less than 4 minutes to play, Saint A’s held a slim 10-7 advantage before an Assumption goal made it 10-8. Another Greyhound goal made it 10-9 with a minute to play. Despite the momentum shift, the Hawks remained composed, and controlled the ball until the clock ran out, escaping with a 10-9 victory and their third in a row. This would earn senior goaltender Elizabeth Driscoll (Marblehead, MA) her third NE10 goaltender of the week award after a season-high 15 saves. Driscoll’s .549 save percentage is 2nd in all of NCAA DII.
With a 11-4 record through 15 games, the Saint Anselm Women’s Lacrosse team sits at #5 in the NE10 with a 6-3 in-conference record. They will close out the regular season with an April 23rd away game vs. the nationally ranked #9 Pace Setters.