NASHUA, N.H. – The Rivier men's lacrosse team is headed to its second consecutive Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Championship after holding of a late surging Norwich University, 13-11, Wednesday evening at Joanne Merrill Field.
With the win, the Raiders improved to 17-0, while the Cadets ended their season with a 9-8 record.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Norwich opened the contest with two quick goals, both from Case MacDonald. Rivier responded with four unanswered goals late in the quarter to flip the momentum. Sophomore Aiden Conley put the Raiders on the board before assisting first-year Henri Brochu on a man-up goal to tie the game. Brochu then made it 3-2, and Conley followed with his second and third goals of the frame to give Rivier a three-goal cushion. The Cadets cut the deficit to two with 1:10 remaining in the opening quarter.
- After a high-scoring first quarter, the second saw just two goals. Conley completed the hat trick plus one at 10:07 to extend Rivier's lead to 6-3. Norwich answered with a goal from Drew Fleury with five seconds remaining before halftime.
- Rivier came out on fire in the second half, scoring five goals over an eight-minute span to build an 11-4 advantage. First-year Andrew Nee connected with sophomore James DelPrete to open the scoring, and less than a minute later, first-year Conor Walsh found sophomore Mason Schultz to double the lead. Nee, Brochu, and DelPrete scored three consecutive goals just past the midway point of the third quarter to push the lead to seven. Norwich added two late goals to trim the deficit to five.
- Norwich had its most productive stretch in the fourth quarter, outscoring Rivier 5-2. The Cadets cut the lead to four before junior Cole Ronalter restored a five-goal cushion at 12-7. Norwich then tallied four goals in nearly three minutes to pull within one. With 1:39 remaining, Conley scored his fifth goal of the game to seal the 13-11 Rivier victory.
BOX SCORE BREAKDOWN
- Sophomore Jake Lydon made 11 saves in the crease for the Raiders.
- Conley paced the offense with six points on five goals and an assist.
- Senior Owen McDuffie led the team with eight ground balls.
- Ronalter and first-year Logan Layton each caused two turnovers.
UP NEXT
The GNAC Championship game between Rivier and Saint Joseph's (Me.) will take place on Saturday, May 2 at Joanne Merrill Field. A time has yet to be determined.
