Plymouth State men's, women's lacrosse teams among NCAA-bound NH clubs
May 6—After capturing its first Little East Conference title, the Plymouth State University men's lacrosse team will make its NCAA Division III tournament debut on Saturday.
The Panthers (15-4), who have already set the program single-season wins record, will play No. 3 ranked St. Lawrence University at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut, in a second-round game on Saturday (noon).
Plymouth State has won nine straight games, its most recent being a 16-10 triumph over Western Connecticut State University in the LEC final on Saturday.
Alex Hawkom, a graduate student from Manchester, was named the LEC tournament MVP after recording eight goals and two assists over the Panthers' three-game postseason run.
Owen McNichols, a senior goaltender from Manchester, owns the single-season (15) and all-time (32) program wins record. He has an 8.1 goals-against average and .566 save percentage this season.
Hawkom, McNichols, junior Joey Loeber and freshman Aiden Renner all received LEC weekly honors this week.
Hawkom was named the offensive player of the week. McNichols was chosen as the goalie of the week after posting an 8.37 goals-against average and .586 save percentage in the LEC tournament.
Loeber earned the defensive player of the week honor after recording a team-high seven caused turnovers, and nine ground balls in the tournament. Renner was named the rookie of the week after tallying 29 ground balls and three assists alongside winning nearly 64% of his faceoffs in the tournament.
St. Lawrence owns a 14-3 overall record and went 6-1 in Liberty League play. The Saints fell, 7-6, to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in the Liberty League semifinals.
PSU women's lacrosse team wins 10th LEC championship
The Plymouth State women's lacrosse team won its second consecutive and league-record 10th overall LEC title to earn its NCAA Division III tournament berth.
The Panthers (13-6) will play 19th-ranked Massachusetts Institute of Technology (16-4) on Saturday at 1 p.m. at William Smith College in Geneva, New York.
Plymouth State has won nine straight games and is coming off its 15-6 LEC final victory over rival Keene State College on Saturday.
Julia Donovan, a junior from Antrim, logged two goals and an assist and classmate Jenna Stowell of Londonderry added two goals, two ground balls and nine draw controls for the Panthers against Keene State. Donovan leads the team in points (85) on 61 goals and 24 assists.
Plymouth State junior goaltender Margie Black was named the LEC tournament MVP after recording a .500 save percentage and 6.67 goals-against average over three postseason games.
Black and teammates Megan Gaspa and Maddie Hunt swept this week's LEC weekly awards. Black was named the goalie of the week while Gaspa, a senior captain from Laconia, and Hunt were named the defensive and offensive player of the week, respectively.
Gaspa recorded five goals, 10 draw controls and 11 ground balls and caused six turnovers over the Panthers' LEC tournament run.
Hunt, a junior, scored a team-high 11 goals and also had six ground balls, a draw control and two caused turnovers in the LEC tournament.
The Engineers fell, 10-7, to Babson College in the NEWMAC championship game.
Saint Anselm men's lacrosse team earns fourth straight NCAA bid
Following its one-goal loss in the Northeast-10 Conference title game, the Saint Anselm College men's lacrosse team earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Division II tournament.
The Hawks (10-4), seeded third in the North Region, will host sixth-seeded and fellow NE-10 member Bentley University (9-5) in a first-round game on Wednesday at 4 p.m.
Saint Anselm fell, 10-9, at Adelphi University in the NE-10 title game on Saturday. Adelphi scored twice in the fourth quarter and the Hawks pulled within one on Jack Andrews's goal with one second remaining.
Saint Anselm's Nick Larsen (21 goals, 22 assists) was named the NE-10 Co-Player of the Year, Ryan Slattery (24 ground balls, 21 caused turnovers) was named the Defensive Player of the Year and Craig Yannone (.686 faceoff percentage) received the faceoff specialist of the year award.
Bentley fell, 19-7, to Adelphi in the NE-10 semifinals.
NE-10 champion Hawks earn seventh NCAA softball bid
The Saint Anselm softball team's 2-0, eight-inning triumph over Adelphi in the NE-10 title game on Saturday earned the Hawks their seventh overall NCAA Division II tournament appearance.
The Hawks (25-22), seeded fifth of the eight East Region teams, will face No. 4 seed and fellow NE-10 member Assumption (23-14) on Thursday at Wilmington University in New Castle, Delaware.
Sam Wiberg, a junior from Exeter, drove in the game-winning runs for Saint Anselm in the NE-10 final with a double to left-center field in the eighth inning.
Haile Hicks, a senior pitcher from Jefferson, was named the NE-10 tournament MVP after not allowing a run and compiling 20 strikeouts over three playoff games.
Hicks and Wiberg are among six Saint Anselm players that received All-NE-10 honors.
The Hawks defeated Assumption, 1-0, in the NE-10 semifinals.
The Greyhounds won both regular-season games, outscoring Saint Anselm, 30-11, in a March doubleheader.
SNHU, Franklin Pierce baseball team open NE-10 tournament Tuesday
NE-10 Northeast Division champion Southern New Hampshire University and Franklin Pierce University both open league tournament play Tuesday.
The Penmen (31-16, 20-7 NE-10), coming off three straight wins over Franklin Pierce, will host Assumption (17-28, 11-16) in a first-round game on Tuesday at 3:30 p.m.
The Ravens (25-16, 18-9) will host Bentley (29-18, 15-12) in a first-round game Tuesday night (6).
