Rivier's Kayleee Magoon (11) moves past Simmons defender Sydney Neumuth during Saturday's GNAC contest in Brighton, Mass. (Courtesy photo by Pat Donnelly/Rivier Athletics)

BRIGHTON, Mass. – The Rivier women’s soccer team used two goals from Kaylee Magoon and a four-save clean sheet from keeper Julia Cafferty to push past Simmons, 3-0, in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) clash on Saturday afternoon at Daly Field. The Raiders have now won two games in a row and advanced their record to 2-1-0 (2-0-0 GNAC), while the Sharks fell to 0-3-1 (0-1-1 GNAC) on the season.

Magoon got the scoring underway in the 33rd minute when she spun off three defenders and fired a low shot past the outstretched arms of the Simmons keeper, Julia Rodgers, and into the bottom left corner of the net to put the Raiders up 1-0. She would strike again less than three minutes later on another unassisted tally on a similar turnaround-style shot to double the visitors’ lead before halftime.

In the final minutes of regulation, Rivier used its final of five corner kicks to net the third goal of the contest. Jordan Butters placed a ball into the middle of the box that found Emily Lizotte’s header for an easy tap-in to make it 3-0.

Rivier outshot Simmons, 15-8, throughout the duration of the game, with eight coming in the opening half.

The Raiders will continue GNAC play in their first home matchup of the season on Tuesday, Sept. 12 when they host Norwich at 7:00 p.m. at Merrill Field.

In other Rivier action at home and away on Saturday:

FIELD HOCKEY

SIMMONS 4, RIVIER 1

Despite junior goalkeeper Kylie Coupal’s 13-save effort, the Rivier field hockey team fell in GNAC play at Brighton’s Daly Field.

The Sharks (3-0, 2-0 GNAC) opened the scoring less than a minute into the contest when Sydney Gonyea found the back of the cage on an unassisted strike. The home team would double its lead 2:28 into the second quarter when Anna Tedeschi scored with help from Hannah Groves and Gonyea. The score would remain 2-0 into the halftime break.

In the middle of the third frame, Lilly Taglieri’s unassisted tally would add some insurance for Simmons.

It wasn’t until the final minute of the game that Madison Bovill would score the Raiders’ (0-2, 0-2 GNAC) first goal. The Sharks would add one more in the waning seconds to secure a 4-1 victory, their third-straight to open the season.

The Raiders will play at home for the first time in 2023 on Tuesday when they host Framingham St. at 5:00 p.m. at Merrill Field.

MEN’S SOCCER

RIVIER 1, MITCHELL 1

Drew Sacca got the only goal for the Raiders in a GNAC contest at Rivier’s Merrill Field. It was Riv’s second straight draw.

Pressure from the Raiders midfield kept the possession in Rivier’s favor, allowing Landon Davison to get a shot off, with Drew Sacca following behind to tap in the goal. Dylan Lucey of Mitchell would answer back at 34:53 in the first to tie up the score.

Rivier outshot the Mariners, 21-9, and also lead in corner kicks, 6-5.

Noah Horn made two saves in net for Riv in his third start of the season.

The Raiders will travel to Auburndale, Mass. to face Lasell in GNAC action Wednesday, kicking off at 4 p.m.

WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL

RIVIER 3, BRIDGEWATER STATE 1

The Raiders came away with a four-set non-conference win over the Bears at Rodgers Recreation Center in Newport, R.I. The Raiders won by set scores of 25-21, 20-25, 25-13, 25-19 to jump to 2-2 on the season, while the loss kept Bridgewater St. in search of its first victory.

After falling behind 17-14 midway through the first set, Rivier would use a combination of kills, aces, and unforced errors to secure a five-point swing and force the Bears into a timeout now leading 19-17.

Rivier would continue to pile on the points as back-to-back kills from Sam Driend and Lily Sills followed by a bad set from Bridgewater St. would increase the lead to 22-17. Despite a comeback bid from the Bears, a service error on set point would give the Raiders a 1-0 lead in the match. Rivier hit .273 in the opening set while tacking on four aces.

Neither team would budge for most of the second set until three straight points for Bridgewater St. at 19-19 would force Rivier into a timeout, trailing 23-19. Despite one kill from Brynn Roche in the late going, the Bears would take set two using back-to-back kills from Kim Gowell.

In the third, Rivier would bounce out to a 12-8 lead thanks in part to serving runs from Ali Rivera and Driend that accumulated seven points. Later, while leading 13-10, the Raiders recorded 11 consecutive points to make it 24-10, helping them soundly take the set by a score of 25-13. The Rivier defense limited the Bears’ offense to a -.217 hitting percentage in the frame.

Once again, the Raiders held their opponents to a negative hitting percentage in the fourth, as Bridgewater St. hit at a -.043 clip. Rivier got out to a quick 7-1 lead with a Roche kill sending the Bears back to the bench for a timeout. The Raiders would not allow the Bears to get closer than three for the remainder of the match, as Rivier won 25-19 to secure their second victory of the young season.

Driend and Rivera each led the way in kills and aces, followed closely by Sills. Roche recorded five kills on eight errorless swings to post a team-best .625 hitting percentage on the afternoon while notching 2.5 blocks. Ryan Hicks once again led the offense, dishing out 25 helpers in the triumph. Sofia Pawlusik led the defensive efforts with 16 digs.

Rivier will return to action on Wednesday in a road tilt at Smith with the first serve scheduled for 7 p.m. at Ainsworth Gym.