CASTLETON, Vt. – The Rivier men's lacrosse team defeated VTSU-Castleton 9-3 in a non-conference road matchup Tuesday evening at Dave Wolk Stadium.
With the win, the Raiders improved to 4-0, while the Spartans fell to 1-4.
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Sophomore Aiden Conley opened the scoring off an assist from first-year Henri Brochu just 2:04 into the first quarter. First-year Andrew Nee then connected with sophomore James DelPrete to double the lead before Nee found classmate Conor Walsh to extend the advantage to 3-0. VTSU-Castleton answered at the 5:17 mark, but DelPrete recorded his second goal of the quarter with 1:21 remaining to restore the three-goal lead.
• DelPrete completed his hat trick off a feed from Conley with 12:10 remaining in the second quarter. Sophomore Ray Lynch then capitalized on a turnover and found the back of the net for the first time this season to extend the lead to five. Neither side scored over the final 10:23 of the first half.
• The Spartans opened the scoring in the third quarter with their second goal of the game at the 7:47 mark. Both teams then traded goals at 3:06 and 2:26, with Walsh netting his second of the game off an assist from senior Braydon Bourque.
• DelPrete scored to open the fourth quarter before Rivier capitalized on a man-up opportunity to extend the lead to 8-3. Conley added one final goal at the 1:17 mark to seal the 9-3 victory.

BOX SCORE BREAKDOWN

• Sophomore goalkeeper Jake Lydon logged 13 saves in between the sticks for the Raiders.
• Seniors Owen McDuffie and Scott Miller led the team with six ground balls each.
• Miller added a team-best four caused turnovers.
• DelPrete's four point and four goal performance is a career-best in both categories.  

UP NEXT  
The Raiders return home to Joanne Merrill field for a non-conference contest with Salem St. The opening faceoff is scheduled 4:00 p.m. on Mar. 17.