Rivier goalie Lindsey Kruger had eight saves Saturday but it wasn't enough in a 12-8 loss at Simmons. (File photo courtesy of Rivier Athletics)

BOSTON, Mass. – On a rainy Saturday afternoon at Daly Field, the Rivier University women’s lacrosse team fell to Simmons, 12-8, in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) North Divisional matchup.

The Raiders dropped to 3-3 (0-3 GNAC) while the Sharks improved to 3-6 (1-2 GNAC).

Simmons held a 5-3 lead after the opening quarter, with three different goal-scorers contributing for Rivier.

The Sharks would see their lead double by the end of the second quarter they outscored the Raiders by two in the frame to take a 9-5 edge into halftime.

Sarah Lachance would net a pair of goals for the visitors in the third and score her fifth goal of the contest in the opening minutes of the fourth, but Simmons would hang on for the final 12:52 of the contest to secure its first conference win.

Rivier secured 14 draw controls to Simmons’ eight.

Lindsey Kruger made eight saves.

Rivier will be back in action for a mid-week non-conference contest against Fitchburg St. on Tuesday at 4 p.m. at Elliot Field.

MEN’S VOLLEYBALL

RIVIER BEATS LASELL, FALLS TO EMMANUEL

The Raiders beat Lasell in four sets before being swept by Emmanuel (Mass.) in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) tri-match at Boston’s Jean Yawkey Center.

With the 1-1 day, the Raiders moved to 12-11 (6-2 GNAC).

Rivier will now turn its attention to Endicott in a mid-week non-conference matchup against the Gulls scheduled for 7 p.m. on Wednesday, March 27 at the Muldoon Center.

Rivier 3, Lasell 1

In the opening match of the day for the Raiders, the middles went to work in a major way as Chris Lezon and Matthew McCloskey each recorded double-digit kill totals while hitting .600 or better.

The first set took extra points to secure, with Isaac Borges willing the game to set point before a Lasell attack error gave Rivier a 1-0 match lead.

Lasell ultimately took set two just that as a pair of kills by Theo Zaharewicz gave the Lasers a 27-25 victory to tie the match at 1-1.

Racine Camara gave Rivier an early 2-0 lead in the third set off an ace and a kill. The Raiders led for the length of the set, eventually earning a 25-23 victory on a Borges kill.

The Raiders bolted out to a 6-1 lead thanks to a pair of aces by Borges. Lasell would take a 9-8 lead on a Brenden Joyce kill, but Rivier would continue to scrap for a lead. After commanding the end of the set, Rivier earned the win on a service error by the Lasers.

Neil Rea dished out 39 assists as the Raiders hit at a .286 team percentage. Borges and Lezon each had three of Rivier’s nine aces. Matthew Diamond led the dig effort with seven while Lezon and Rea each notched four block assists.

Emmanuel (Mass.) 3, Rivier 0

Emmanuel performed strongly on offense in the second match of the day, downing the Raiders by set scores of 25-20, 25-20, 25-18.

Rivier was limited to a .141 hitting percentage while the Saints notched a .347 clip.

Rivier’s top performers once again were middles Matthew McCloskey and Chris Lezon.

Newsletter