O’Brien registers first collegiate hat trick, #6 Saint Anselm men’s lacrosse doubles up #11 Bentley in NE10 opener

WALTHAM, Mass. – Freshman Eddie O’Brien (Franklin, Mass.) had a breakout night with three goals and two assists for a career-high five points as the nationally ranked #6 Saint Anselm College men’s lacrosse team earned a 16-8 road win at #11 Bentley in its Northeast-10 Conference (NE10) opener on Tuesday night. O’Brien, who recorded his first collegiate hat trick, was one of five student-athletes to finish with multiple goals in the win for the Hawks.

For the third straight game, Saint Anselm scored the first three goals to take an early 3-0 lead. Junior Maverick Lyon (Albany, Ore.) opened the scoring just over a minute in and sophomore Mark Boyle (Reading, Mass.) followed that up with a goal off a feed from O’Brien 39 seconds later. Senior Will Andrews (Cumberland, R.I.) scored the third Hawks goal with a bounce shot midway through the first quarter.

Saint Anselm could not be stopped on offense as they rattled off six straight goals in the second quarter, marking eight unanswered scores. Freshman Matt Lemay (Westminster, Mass.) caught fire during that 10-minute stretch for the Hawks with two deep goals and a pair of assists, which helped his team extend its lead to 11-3. Senior Joe Lombardi (Holliston, Mass.) added to the lead with a rip to the top shelf as Saint Anselm maintained a 12-4 advantage at halftime.

The offense started to slow down at the start of the second half. Neither team scored for the first six minutes of the third quarter, but junior Charlie Dean (North Andover, Mass.) quickly ended the drought with his first goal of the season for the Hawks. Lyon added his third off a rebound in front just over two minutes later as the visitors extended the lead to 10 goals.

Sophomore Evan Spillane (East Longmeadow, Mass.) gave the Hawks a huge jolt after winning the opening faceoff to start the fourth, scooping up a loose ball, and then driving straight to the cage where he finished his first goal of the season to make it 15-7. O’Brien put the exclamation point on the victory for the Hawks, scoring his third goal of the night with 3:30 remaining to secure the hat trick and the 16-8 win

Sophomore goaltender Finn Granara (Reading, Mass.) made eight saves and posted a .500 save percentage in his eighth career win between the pipes for the Hawks. Ryan Bordiere made 12 saves and allowed 16 goals in the loss for the Falcons.

Saint Anselm (4-0, 1-0 NE10) is on the road to take on Franklin Pierce in NE10 action on Saturday, March 22nd at 12:00 p.m. in Rindge, N.H.