Pleasantville, N.Y. (April 11) -- Trailing 6-2 at halftime, the Saint Anselm men's lacrosse team score six unanswered goals in the final two quarters to defeat Pace by an 8-6 final on Saturday afternoon in Northeast-10 Conference play.

Pace jumped out to an early 5-1 lead after one quarter and led by a convincing 6-2 margin at the halftime break before the visitors put together the game-winning rally. After a man-up goal by senior All-America candidate Chris Murphy (Winchester, Mass.) midway through the third quarter made it 6-3, four other Hawks scored in the period to take the 7-6 lead with just 1:50 left in the third.

The go-ahead and eventual game-winning goal was scored by sophomore Jeff Dunkle (Exeter, N.H.), the team's second man-up goal of the half. Murphy closed out the scoring with the lone goal of the fourth quarter by either team as the Hawks remained in the hunt for a Northeast-10 Tournament home game with the victory.

Matt O'Connell (Charlestown, Mass.) led the Hawks with one goal and three assists, while Murphy and Matt Surette (Wakefield, Mass.) each scored a pair of goals. Sophomore goalie Dan Flynn (Wakefield, Mass.) made seven saves to pick up the victory for the Hawks.

With the win, the Hawks improve to 5-4 overall and 3-2 in Northeast-10 play, while Pace drops to 3-7 overall and 2-4 in league action. Saint Anselm is back in action on Tuesday afternoon as the Hawks host Merrimack for a 4:30 p.m. start at Grappone Stadium.

2009-04-12