NASHUA, N.H. – Riding the momentum of a second straight Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Championship, the Rivier men's lacrosse team is set to host Rhodes, the Southern Athletic Association (SAA) champion, in the NCAA Division III First Round on Wednesday, May 6 at 4:00 p.m. at Joanne Merrill Field.

Rivier enters the national tournament amid a historic season, completing the first undefeated campaign in program history while setting a new program record for wins with an 18-0 mark. The Raiders also became the first team in GNAC history to finish conference play undefeated, outscoring opponents 229-66 during the regular season.

The program is making its second consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance after earning its first berth last season. The Raiders secured their first NCAA Tournament victory with a 20-10 win over Maine Maritime before falling to Bowdoin in the second round.

Rivier punched its ticket to the NCAA Tournament with a dominant postseason run, beginning with a 15-4 quarterfinal victory over Regis (Mass.) on its home turf. In the semifinal round, the Raiders earned a 13-11 win over Norwich, fending off a late push to secure a return trip to the GNAC Championship. The title game proved to be the toughest test, as Rivier erased a three-goal halftime deficit, its largest of the season, to defeat Saint Joseph's (Me.), 8-7, and claim the conference crown at home.

Jake Lydon was named Tournament Most Valuable Player, while Owen McDuffie, Mason Schultz, Conor Walsh, and Logan Layton earned All-Tournament Team honors.

The Raiders brought home a major haul of conference awards, highlighted by Lydon being named both Goalie and Defensive Player of the Year, McDuffie earning Faceoff Specialist of the Year honors, Walsh selected as Rookie of the Year, and head coach Jay DeLanoy named Coach of the Year.

Five Raiders landed on the All-GNAC First Team in Aiden Conley, McDuffie, Layton, Lydon, and Colin Foley. James DelPrete, Henri Brochu, and Cole Ronalter were named to the Second Team, while Walsh added Third Team recognition.

Offensively, Walsh leads the team with 63 points (35 goals, 28 assists), followed by Conley with 58 points (44 goals, 14 assists), Schultz with 55 points (45 goals, 10 assists), and DelPrete with 50 points (31 goals, 19 assists).

The defensive unit is led by Foley who has totaled 35 caused turnovers and 61 ground balls Layton has added 33 caused turnovers and 48 ground balls and Luke Armano (21 caused turnovers) and Scott Miller (16) have also anchored the unit.

In net, Lydon has started all 18 games, posting a perfect 18-0 record with a .665 save percentage, a 5.05 goals-against average, and 161 saves. He has also scored two goals this season from his netminder position and currently leads the nation in goals-against average and ranks second in save percentage.

McDuffie ranks among the nation's best at the faceoff X, sitting 11th nationally while going 170-for-237 (.717) on the season. He has also totaled a team-high 111 ground balls.

As a team, Rivier owns the nation's top scoring defense (4.88 goals allowed per game) and ranks fourth in scoring margin (+9.84). The blue-and-white also rank fifth in man-down defense (.882), 28th in caused turnovers per game (11.65), and 30th in scoring offense (14.72 goals per game).

Rhodes enters the NCAA Tournament at 12-6 overall after a strong run as the No. 3 seed in the SAA Tournament. The Lynx erased a three-goal fourth-quarter deficit to defeat Centre, 12-11, before knocking off top-seeded Sewanee, 13-11, to secure the conference title.

Rhodes features a balanced offense led by four 50-point scorers, headlined by Gavin Nagle with 84 points (43 goals, 41 assists). Nagle is a steady presence on both ends, adding 20 caused turnovers and 69 ground balls to go with his offensive production. He is joined by Griffin Galloway (59 points; 33 goals, 26 assists), Andrew Murphy (57 points; 52 goals, 5 assists), and John Mori (50 points; 43 goals, 7 assists).

Defensively, Nicholas Wheeldon has recorded 21 caused turnovers, while Aidan Malnati has added 20 caused turnovers and 69 ground balls.

At the faceoff X, Wade Burke has gone 219-for-351 (.624) and leads the team with 116 ground balls.

Both Jason Rubinstein and Blake Jeska have seen time this season. Rubinstein has recorded 88 saves with a .537 save percentage and a 12.42 goals-against average and is expected to get the start after appearing in both conference tournament games. Jeska has also appeared in 13 games with 10 starts.

The winner of Wednesday's first-round game will travel to Tufts for a second-round matchup on Saturday, May 9, at 4:30 p.m. at Bello Field. The full tournament bracket is available at NCAA.com