Shaky Start Dooms Men's Lacrosse In 17-7 Loss To No. 11 Saint Anselm College
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Saint Anselm (7-2, 5-2) | 5 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 17 |
|
Franklin Pierce (4-5, 1-4) | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 7 |
RINDGE, N.H. (4/5/23) – The Franklin Pierce men's lacrosse team shouldered a 17-7 loss to in-state rival, No. 11 Saint Anselm College in Northeast-10 Conference play on Wednesday afternoon at Sodexo Field.
With the loss, the Ravens pull even to 4-4 (1-3 NE10) overall on the season, while the Hawks improve to 5-2 (4-2 NE10) overall following the win.
It was a fast start out of the gate for the visitors, with Saint Anselm putting the first five goals of the game on the board. With just 2:12 left in the first quarter, the Ravens finally broke through a man-up as senior Sean Daly (Kingston, Mass.) rounded a corner and scored, unassisted to bring the score to 5-1 at the end of the frame.
Entering the second quarter, junior midfielder Conor Rooney (Wilmington, Mass.) added another goal for the Ravens just 1:26 into the action with the help of senior Nathaniel Girardin (Brunswick, Maine). However, the Hawks would respond by padding their lead with four consecutive strikes, lengthening their advantage to 9-2. Of their 4-0 run, two goals were scored by senior midfielder Jack Andrews.
In the third quarter, the Hawks continued to further their lead with a 5-2 scoring edge over the Ravens, eventually climbing to a 14-4 advantage. For Pierce, Sean Daly would contribute his second of the contest at the 11:25 mark, while graduate Joe Nutting (Amherst, N.H.) potted his team leading 18th of the season with 5:23 remaining. After a pair of Hawk goals to open the fourth, the Ravens retaliated with a 3-0 run, beginning with Daly at 11:43 to complete the hat-trick effort. To follow were strikes from senior Owen McCormack (Hampstead, N.H.) and senior Eric Bua Jr. (Revere, Mass.), pulling the Ravens closer to the Hawks while still trailing 16-7.
Saint Anselm would fire one more to the back of the Raven goal prior to game's end, claiming the win 17-7.
Getting the mid-week start in goal for Pierce was sophomore Mike Masterpolo (Kingston, Mass.), who took the loss after stopping 10-of-27 shots faced to move to a 4-3 record this season. Saint Anselm's David Olsen earned the win (4-2) following 8-of-15 performance in goal.
The Ravens will make their way down to No. 10 Pace University (7-1, 3-1 NE10) for a road tilt with the Setters on Saturday, April 8th at Noon.