After a groundbreaking 2023 season, the Emmanuel College men’s lacrosse team has struggled mightily in its bid for an encore, but one bright spot for the 1-9 Saints has been Cranston native Samuel Yan.

Currently in the midst of his sophomore campaign, the La Salle graduate has accrued five goals and just as many assists, having a hand in three tallies in Emmanuel’s lone win thus far, a 16-1 shellacking of Anna Maria on March 20.

The wait for the Saints to get on the scoreboard lasted all of one minute, with Yan dishing off the decisive pass to Tyler Cardinal, who then placed his shot past Amcat goaltender Christian Williams to draw first blood.

Anna Maria responded 17 seconds later via Hank Gittines’s 14th goal of the year, but the equalizer proved to be nothing more than a mirage in what ended up being a processional to the cage for Emmanuel.

Every subsequent marker was netted by a Saint, starting with Cooper Mehlhorn’s go-ahead strike with 7:52 remaining in the opening stanza and wrapping up courtesy of the stick of Jack Holmes at the 6:21 mark of the final term.

Yan got in on the action during the first quarter, notching for the third time on the season 10:08 into the period to give Emmanuel a 4-1 lead, which he followed up with his second assist of the evening midway through the third.

It was the second straight game that the former Ram scored a goal, a streak he has since extended to four thanks to markers in defeats to Lasell and Norwich, the latter dealing a heartbreaking 11-10 setback last Saturday.

Going into the final 15 minutes of play armed with a 9-7 advantage, the Saints surrendered three straight goals before Ryan Etzo tied the contest with 51 seconds left, but the Cadets’ Drew Fleury rocketed home the winner 19 seconds from the end.

Heading into 2024 as the reigning champions of the Great Northeast Athletic Conference, Emmanuel’s title defense has been less-than-spectacular, compiling a 1-3 record in league play with a half-dozen games remaining on the docket.

The good news is that there is still time for the Saints to turn things around, with a Wednesday visit from New England College and a Saturday matinee versus Elms providing a chance for Yan and the rest of the squad to climb the GNAC standings.

Cranston West product Jake SanAntonio has nailed down a regular berth in the UMass-Dartmouth starting lineup this spring, mainly playing as the Corsairs’ first baseman while also spending time at third base.

Appearing in all but two of UMass-Dartmouth’s 19 games to date, the ex-Falcon has been solid at the plate, hitting at a .281 clip with four extra-base hits and nine runs batted in, driving home a pair in contests versus Fitchburg State and Wheaton.

SanAntonio has been able to improve his average in recent weeks via a hit streak, which he extended to six with a 2-for-4 performance against Babson on Monday, a tilt that concluded 10-3 in favor of the homestanding Beavers.

The setback dropped the Corsairs’ overall record on the campaign to 8-11 heading into Thursday afternoon’s meeting with Eastern Nazarene, with weekend twinbills versus Suffolk and Western Connecticut to follow.