Manchester, N.H. (April 5) -- Led by six goals and one assist by sophomore Jeff Dunkle (Exeter, N.H.), the Saint Anselm men's lacrosse team pulled away for a 16-10 win over Southern New Hampshire at Grappone Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

The Hawks jumped out to a quick 5-1 lead before three straight Penmen goals in the final 3:12 of the first period cut the lead to 5-4. Saint Anselm stretched the lead back to five though with three straight scores by Dunkle to end the first half and headed into the break leading 10-5.

Southern New Hampshire battled back though as Mike Ball (Salem, N.H.) scored three times in the third quarter to trail by just a 13-10 deficit. The Hawks held the visitors off the board in the fourth though as Matt O'Connell (Charlestown, Mass.) scored the first goal of the period and Justin Hall (Sudbury, Mass.) added two more for the 16-10 final.

Dan Flynn (Wakfield, Mass.) made 15 saves in the victory for the Hawks, while Eric Gunst (Exeter, N.H.) turned aside two shots in the loss.

Dunkle led all scorers with six goals and one assist, while Chris Murphy (Winchester, Mass.) added a hat trick and four assists. Mike Ball had five goals and one assist for the Penmen, while Keith Merluzzo (Billerica, Mass.) added three goals and one assist.

With the win, the Hawks are now 4-3 overall and 2-1 in the Northeast-10, while the Penmen fall to 0-6 overall and 0-2 in league play. Saint Anselm is back in action on Wednesday night as the team travels to Bentley for a 7:00 p.m. start in Waltham.

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MANCHESTER, N.H. – Host Saint Anselm College never trailed en route to a 16-10 Northeast-10 men's lacrosse victory over Southern New Hampshire University Sunday afternoon. The Hawks improved to 4-3 overall and 2-1 in the NE-10, while the Penmen are now 0-6 and 0-2 in the league.

Jeff Dunkle totaled six goals and an assist to pace Saint Anselm, while Chris Murphy notched three goals and four assists. Mike Ball (Salem, NH) led Southern New Hampshire with five goals and an assist. Keith Merluzzo (Billerica, MA) recorded three goals and an assist, while Judd Gammie (Simsbury, CT) and Marc Novaco (Chelmsford, MA) had the other Penmen tallies.

Saint Anselm jumped out to a 2-0 lead less than a minute into the game and led 5-1 when the Penmen scored three goals in the final 3:12 of the first half to close within 5-4 after one quarter on a goal directly off the faceoff by Ball. The Hawks would outscore the Penmen 5-1 in the second quarter to take a 10-5 lead into halftime.

Southern New Hampshire would score three times in a span of 2:32 midway through the third quarter to pull within 12-9, with Ball scoring the third goal of the spurt at 6:08. The Penmen would trail 13-10 heading into the final period, but Saint Anselm held SNHU scoreless over the final 15 minutes.

Dan Flynn made 15 saves in goal for Saint Anselm as the Penmen generated a 45-35 shot advantage. Eric Gunst (Exeter, NH) and Brendan O'Brien (Hopkinton, MA) combined for three saves for Southern New Hampshire.

Southern New Hampshire returns to action Wednesday with a 4:00 contest at Saint Michael's.

2009-04-05