NASHUA, N.H. – Graduate student Connor Eck recorded his 200th career point with a hat trick to lead the Rivier men's lacrosse team to a 9-5 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) victory over previously unbeaten Emmanuel (Mass.) on Wednesday evening at Joanne Merrill Field.
With the win, the Raiders extended their program-best winning streak to nine games and claimed the top spot in the GNAC standings with an 11-1 (7-0 GNAC) record. The Saints fell to 8-6 overall (7-1 GNAC).
Emmanuel opened the scoring with an early goal at the 14:16 mark, taking a 1-0 lead. Eck responded with two goals in a three-minute span to put the Raiders ahead. Senior Sawyer Hall added a third goal in the dying seconds of the quarter, finishing off a feed from graduate student Coby Mercier to give the Raiders a 3-1 advantage at the end of the first.
Both squads struggled to find rhythm early in the second quarter, each committing five turnovers in the frame. The Saints broke through first, scoring with 5:56 remaining in the half. Senior Chris Heitmiller closed out the quarter with a goal in the final seconds, sending the Raiders into halftime with a 4-2 lead.
Coming out of the break, Emmanuel capitalized on a man-up opportunity to trim the deficit to one. Graduate student Michael Ference responded just over a minute later with an unassisted goal to restore the two-goal cushion and give the Raiders a 5-3 lead heading into the final frame.
Heitmiller and Mercier extended the Raiders' lead to their largest of the game, each scoring within the first 3:32 of the fourth quarter to push the advantage to 7-3. The Saints responded with a quick goal, but Eck reestablished the four-goal cushion by completing his hat trick with 6:51 remaining. Hall capped off his three-point performance to seal the 9-5 victory for Rivier.
Ference led the team with four points, recording one goal and three assists. Eck notched his third straight hat trick and seventh of the season. Heitmiller and Hall each recorded three points, while Mercier contributed two points and a ground ball. Senior Joseph O'Reilly anchored the defense with four caused turnovers
Junior Owen McDuffie went 7-of-9 (77.7%) from the faceoff X, collecting a team-high six ground balls. Sophomore Noah Zeman finished 6-of-9 (66.6%) and picked up five ground balls. Graduate goaltender Sawyer Gagnon recorded 14 saves in his ninth win of the campaign.
The Raiders play host to Anna Maria on Saturday, April 19 for a GNAC matchup, which will also serve as Senior Day. The opening faceoff is set for noon from Joanne Merrill Field.
