NASHUA, N.H. – It will be a battle of the two top seeds in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) in the conference championship game on Saturday, May 3 as No. 1N Rivier plays host to No. 1S Lasell at 1:00 p.m. at Joanne Merrill Field.
Winners of their last 13 games, the Raiders are making their first conference championship appearance in program history, boasting an overall record of 15-1. Rivier was able to sneak past Saint Joseph (Conn.), 10-9, in Tuesday night's semifinal round matchup after handling JWU (Providence), 15-4, last Saturday in the quarterfinals.
In the victory over USJ which avenged a 2023 quarterfinal loss to the Blue Jays, Rivier was led by four-point outings from senior Michael Zapatka and graduate student Coby Mercier. Senior Chris Heitmiller tacked on a hat trick while grad Connor Eck posted a two-goal, one-assist performance. On the defensive end, senior Parker Williams caused three of the 17 Saint Joseph turnovers. Rivier sophomore faceoff specialist Noah Zemen went 8-of-14 from the X, securing a team-high seven ground balls, to help the Raiders control possession throughout the contest.
Rivier remains second in the nation in scoring defense, allowing just 6.38 goals per game. The defensive zone is anchored by graduate goalkeeper Sawyer Gagnon, who holds a 7.02 goals-against average, the second-best mark in the NCAA Division III ranks, as well as a .615 save percentage, good for seventh best in the country.
Lasell advanced to the championship for the first time since the 2022 season in which it lost to Norwich by a final score of 11-8. The Lasers were victorious in the title game in the prior season, upending the Cadets by a 15-7 final, to advance to the NCAA Tournament for the second time in program history.
The Lasers are led offensively by first-year Jack Condon, who registered 85 points thanks to a league-leading 63 goals scored. Classmate Bubba Baumeister led the team on the defensive end with 36 caused turnovers while securing 31 ground balls. In the faceoff spot, senior Matthew Carbone has gone 229-for-352 with 142 ground balls to this point in the campaign. In goal, senior Michael Catalano has made 16 starts, posting a 12-4 record, with a save percentage of .547 and a goals-against average of 9.29.
Rivier and Lasell faced off in a non-conference regular season game back on March 1, with the Raiders claiming their first victory over the Lasers in program history with an 11-7 triumph on the road.
The winner of Saturday's contest will hoist the GNAC trophy and will earn the GNAC's automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament.
