NASHUA, N.H. — Graduate student Michael Ference recorded 11 points to lead the Rivier men's lacrosse team to a 16-11 victory over Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) rival New England Col. (NEC) on Saturday afternoon at Joanne Merrill Field.

With the win, the Raiders improved to 5-1 (1-0 GNAC), while the Pilgrims fell to 2-4 (0-2 GNAC).

Graduate student Coby Mercier opened the scoring for Rivier with an early goal, followed by first-year James DelPrete, who netted his first collegiate goal just two minutes later, giving the Raiders a 2-0 lead at the 10:01 mark. NEC responded with a man-down goal, but junior Sean Callinan answered with a man-up goal to restore Rivier's two-goal cushion. The Pilgrims struck again with just over four minutes remaining in the period, but consecutive goals from Ference and senior Sawyer Hall extended the Raiders' lead to 5-2 at the end of the first quarter.

Sophomore Cole Ronalter added to Rivier's tally with an early second-quarter goal before NEC responded with one of its own. The Raiders then exploded for a five-goal run in just 4:44, featuring three goals from Ference, a goal from DelPrete, and a man-up goal from senior Chris Heitmiller. The surge pushed Rivier's lead to 11-3 with 6:26 left in the half. NEC countered with three goals before the break, trimming the deficit to 11-6 at halftime.

Rivier halted NEC's momentum early in the second half as senior Michael Zapatka found the back of the net on a man-up opportunity. The teams then traded goals throughout the third quarter, with graduate student Connor Eck and Hall scoring for the Raiders to maintain a 14-8 lead heading into the final frame.

Rivier continued its high tempo play in the fourth quarter, securing two early goals from Mercier and Zapatka to put the game out of reach and seal the 16-11 victory.

Ference led the way with a team-high 11 points on four goals and seven assists, adding two ground balls. Mercier followed with four points while also collecting two ground balls and forcing two turnovers. Zapatka and Hall each tallied three points, while DelPrete contributed two. Senior Parker Williams anchored the defense with four caused turnovers and five ground balls.

At the faceoff X, Noah Zeman won 8-of-11 (72.7%) face-offs and secured a team-high seven ground balls, while junior Owen McDuffie went 8-of-13 (61.5%).

Graduate student goalkeeper Sawyer Gagnon made 13 saves in the contest.

The Raiders outshot NEC 62-36 and held a slight edge in ground balls, 36-34. Rivier also won 16-of-26 faceoffs (61.5%) and was nearly perfect on clear attempts, converting 19-of-20 (95%) while limiting NEC to 18-of-25 (72%).

The Raiders return to GNAC action on Saturday, March 29 when they face JWU (Providence) on Youth Lacrosse Day. Opening faceoff from Joanne Merrill Field is slated for 11:00 a.m.