WINTER PARK, Fla. (March 18, 2026) – No. 14 Rollins women's lacrosse used a decisive second-quarter surge to defeat No. 21 Saint Anselm 15-11 on Wednesday afternoon at Cahall-Sandspur Field.
Delanie Abere led the offensive effort with five goals, while
Molly Mendes added five points on three goals and two assists.
Kali Gagnon joined them with a hat trick, and
Holyn Trautwein,
Gabby Yerardi,
Chloe Pierini, and
Katie Bell each contributed goals in the balanced attack.
Defensively,
Sunny McQuade and
Alyssa Lentz paced the Tars with three ground balls apiece, while Trautwein controlled the draw circle with six draw controls.
Grace Barta led the defense with two caused turnovers. In goal, Lentz earned the win with 11 saves.
Rollins struck first after securing the opening possession, with Bell finishing the early opportunity to give the Tars the lead. After several empty possessions on both sides, Gagnon capitalized off a turnover to double the advantage. Saint Anselm responded with consecutive goals to even the score, but Gagnon answered with back-to-back strikes to push Rollins ahead heading into the second quarter.
The second quarter proved to be the turning point.
Abere opened the frame with a goal off a feed from Pierini, but the Hawks answered with a pair of goals to cut the margin and eventually tie the contest. Mendes briefly put Rollins back in front with an unassisted tally, but Saint Anselm responded again to knot the score.
Rollins then seized control.
A non-releasable yellow card against the Hawks opened the door for a crucial run, and the Tars capitalized with three consecutive woman-up goals. Yerardi converted a free-position opportunity, Abere connected with Mendes for the next, and Mendes added another to extend the lead. Mendes capped the surge with her third goal of the quarter, sending Rollins into halftime with a commanding 10-6 advantage.
Rollins carried that momentum into the second half. Abere opened the scoring with a free-position goal before adding another off a Pierini assist. Trautwein followed with a goal of her own, stretching the lead to seven.
Saint Anselm attempted to rally with back-to-back goals, but Pierini responded quickly off a pass from Mendes to keep Rollins firmly in control at 14-8 heading into the final quarter.
Scoring slowed in the fourth as both defenses tightened. Lentz came up with a key save on the opening possession, and Abere later added her fifth goal of the day on a woman-up free-position opportunity. Saint Anselm managed three late goals, but the Tars held firm to secure the 15-11 victory.
Rollins improves to 9-1 on the season and will open Sunshine State Conference play on Tuesday, March 24, traveling to Daytona Beach to face Embry-Riddle at 4 p.m.
