Saints Earn 16-1 GNAC Men's Lacrosse Victory Over Anna Maria

BOSTON - Emmanuel College Men's Lacrosse (1-7, 1-1 GNAC) picked up a 16-1 Great Northeast Athletic Conference victory over Anna Maria (1-7, 0-2 GNAC) on Wednesday evening at a cold and rainy Clemente Field. The Saints' tally of 16 goals was good for their best offensive output on the young season, while the singular goal allowed marked a season-best defensive effort.

First-year Tyler Cardinal (Rochester, Mass.) posted the first Emmanuel goal of the night off a feed from Samuel Yan (Cranston, R.I.) inside the first minute of play. The AMCATS quickly responded, winning the ensuing faceoff and storming down the field to knot the game at one with a goal from Hank Gittines (Shrewsbury, N.J.).

Following the AMCATS goal, the Saints were able to silence the visitors' offense for the remainder of the contest. Cooper Mehlhorn (South Portland, Maine) began the extended run minutes after Anna Maria equalized, and the Saints continued to add to their advantage. Emmanuel tallied 15 unanswered goals over the remaining 50-plus minutes of the contest to earn the victory.

The Saints defensive effort included forcing 34 AMCATS turnovers. Jack Antico (Elkridge, Md.) had a superb evening on the defensive end, adding in team-bests with four ground balls and four caused turnovers. Eric Anderson (Sparta, N.J.), who manned the net over the first 45 minutes, stopped seven of the eight shots he faced to earn the win. First-year Jake Reeves (Brunswick, Maine) finished out the contest between the posts, finishing with a shutout quarter that included three saves.

Melhorn, Cardinal, and Ethan Madura (Clinton, Conn.) each contributed hat-tricks. It was both Madura and Cardinal's first career three-goal games. Yan and Thomas Quigley (Marblehead, Mass.) added in a pair of assists apiece in the win. 

For the AMCATS, Gittines added a 14th goal to his season tally while Nathan Powers (Putney, V.T.) posted his fifth double-digit ground ball game of the year, finishing with 11. 

Up next, Anna Maria with return home for a GNAC tilt with Johnson & Wales on Saturday at noon. Emmanuel will make the short trip to Newton, Mass. on Saturday at noon for a GNAC matchup with Lasell.