NASHUA, N.H. – The Rivier men's lacrosse team outlasted Saint Joseph (Conn.), 10-9, on Tuesday evening at Joanne Merrill Field in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Semifinal, advancing to the program's first-ever GNAC Championship appearance.
With the win, the Raiders improved to 15-1 on the season and extended their program-best winning streak to 13 games, while the Blue Jays concluded their season at 9-8.
Graduate student Connor Eck carried his momentum from a five-goal outburst in the Quarterfinals, striking early with a goal at the 11:30 mark of the first quarter. The Blue Jays responded quickly, capitalizing on consecutive man-up opportunities to pull ahead 2-1 midway through the frame. Each team forced four turnovers before the period ended with the Blue Jays clinging to a narrow 2-1 advantage.
Rivier capitalized on a two-minute locked-in penalty, reclaiming the lead with goals from senior Michael Zapatka and graduate student Coby Mercier. Saint Joseph responded with 10:19 remaining in the second quarter to tie the game at 3-3. The back-and-forth battle continued, and it was the Blue Jays who struck next, regaining the lead at 4-3 with 4:15 left in the half. Senior Sawyer Hall brought the game level once again, firing home a rocket off a feed from Zapatka. Just over a minute later, senior Chris Heitmiller gave the Raiders a 5-4 halftime lead, faking a shot before slipping the ball past the Blue Jays' goalie.
Both teams slowed the tempo to open the third quarter, with the Raiders applying defensive pressure and forcing four turnovers in the first 11:30 of play. Graduate student Michael Ference broke the deadlock with an unassisted goal, extending Rivier's lead to two. However, Saint Joseph answered just ten seconds later, winning the face-off and racing the length of the field for a quick response. As the quarter came to a close, Heitmiller netted his second of the game, restoring the two-goal cushion and sending the Raiders into the final frame with a 7-5 lead.
The Blue Jays came out aggressive to start the final quarter, trimming the deficit to one just 15 seconds in to make it 7-6. Rivier responded with a commanding stretch, netting three unanswered goals from Eck, Heitmiller, and junior Sean Callinan over a 5:02 span to push the lead to 10-6 with 5:44 to play. Saint Joseph refused to go quietly, scoring at the 3:48 and 2:34 marks to stay within striking distance. In a frantic finish, both teams combined for 11 turnovers in the fourth quarter, and the Blue Jays managed to cut the lead to one with a goal at the 30-second mark. However, the Raiders' defense held firm in the final moments to secure the 10-9 victory.
Zapatka and Mercier paced the Raiders' offense with identical stat lines, each recording one goal and three assists. Heitmiller led the scoring with a hat trick, while also contributing a ground ball and a caused turnover. Eck added three points and three ground balls, and Ference chipped in with two points and two ground balls. Defensively, senior Parker Williams anchored the unit, tallying three caused turnovers and six ground balls. At the face-off X, sophomore Noah Zeman won 8-of-14 draws (57.1%) and led the team with seven ground balls.
Graduate goalie Sawyer Gagnon stopped five shots in the contest and improved to 13-1 on the year, matching his career best win total.
Rivier outshot Saint Joseph by a 38-26 margin and held a 33-24 advantage in ground balls. The Raiders forced 17 turnovers while committing just 14, and they were more efficient on clear attempts, converting 16-of-18 (88.8%) compared to the Blue Jays' 12-of-17 (70.5%).
The Raiders return to action in the GNAC Championship Game, where they will host No. 1S seed Lasell on Saturday, May 3 at Joanne Merrill Field. The opening face-off is set for 1:00 p.m.
