Men's lacrosse pushes No. 8 Saint Anselm to brink in NE10 battle

SPRINGFIELD, Massachusetts - In a game of runs, the American International College men's lacrosse team fell 14-11 to No. 8 Saint Anselm College on Tuesday, April 9 in Northeast-10 Conference play.

AIC is now 5-7 overall and 1-5 in the NE10.

The Hawks opened with a strong start, scoring just 1:14 in on a Colin Mulvey strike. Seven Gillingham tied the game shortly after, but the visiting squad went on a four-goal run to open a big lead. Dawson Long hit the net in the waning seconds of the period, giving AIC some momentum despite a 5-2 deficit.

The second was much more even. The Hawks again scored first, but Dawson Long quickly countered and AIC scored again on a Camden MacDonald goal from Callan Dent. The teams traded goals down the stretch to halftime, with AIC trailing 8-5 at the break after another Long goal to cap the hat trick.

In the third, the Yellow Jackets made some adjustments and took over. Andrew Boyer found Gillingham open for a goal at 1:55 that sparked a five-goal run over 8:58 that featured eight different Yellow Jackets with points. Carter Linkletter notched a goal, Long added his fourth from Ryder Goodwin, Jacob Ligor scored to put AIC ahead 9-8, and Walker found Micaiah Boyle open for the final goal of the run. The Hawks netted one late, but AIC had a 10-9 lead heading to the fourth.

The final frame opened with a bang for AIC, as Ries Bower found Linkletter streaking down the middle early in the frame and the rookie longpole notched his 16th of the year 14 seconds into the period. The goal forced a Saint Anselm goalkeeping change, but the Hawks settled down and were able to score five straight to retake the lead and grab the 14-11 win.,

AIC returns to action Saturday, April 13 at 1:00 p.m. against The College of Saint Rose. The game will serve both as Senior Day and as the team's Morgan's Message Game.