Nashua, NH – The Rivier College men's lacrosse team played their first ever home game today on Raider Field in Nashua, NH. The game featured two first year programs as the Raiders took on the Beavers of the University of Maine Farmington. The Raiders played close during the first quarter as the Beavers clung to a 1-0 advantage, but the deeper roster of Farmington proved to be too much for the Raiders as they dropped the game by a final score of 10-1.

The first quarter was close as Raider goal keeper Matt Besaw (Glenn Falls, NY) made 5 saves and allowed just 1 goal to go into the second quarter down just 1-0. Patrick Hurley (Goffstown, NH) scored the first goal in program history for the Beavers. The Raiders were able to tie the game just 4 minutes into the second period as Randy Perrine (Merrimack, NH) took a pass from Jamie Roche (Charlestown, MA) a put it past Farmington keeper Matthew Nutter (Swampscott, MA). Nutter, however, did not allow another goal for the rest of the game, making 14 total saves. From this point, the Beavers ability to substitute and keep legs fresh really started to show. Farmington scored 4 more goals before halftime to push the Beavers lead to 5-1.

The second half belonged completely to the Farmington Beavers as they added 5 more goals and outshot the Raiders 26-11. Hurley scored 5 of the Beaver goals while Matthew Roy (Kent Hills, ME) had a hat trick of his own, scoring 3 goals. Ethan Fletcher (Waterville, VT) and Ethan Gilbert (Mount Vernon, ME) each chipped in with 1 goal apiece.

Besaw made 20 total saves for the Raiders, a number of them at point blank range.

The Raiders will be off for 2 weeks and return to the field on April 10th against the Emerson College Lions in Boston, MA at 4:00 PM. Farmington will take on Maine Maritime on Saturday, April 3rd at 1:00 PM.