Rivier's Dylan Fonseca, right, won six faceoffs during Thursday's game at St. Joseph's of Maine. (Courtesy photo by Madeline Fitts/Rivier Athletics)

STANDISH, Maine – The Rivier men’s lacrosse team fell behind in the final seconds of a highly contested Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) North Division battle against Saint Joseph’s (Me.), ultimately falling by a 16-15 final, at the SJC Athletic Complex on Thursday evening.

The Raiders fell to 4-5 (2-2 GNAC) while the Monks improved to 5-6 (2-2 GNAC).

Rivier held a narrow 10-9 lead at the half with Chris Heitmiller recording half of the team’s goals.

The one-goal lead for the visitors stayed intact thanks to a man-up goal off the stick of Heitmiller with 5:42 left in the half.

The Monks then rallied to take the lead back with 7:17 to play in the fourth quarter thanks to back-to-back tallies from Xavier Michaud and Nathaniel Girardin. After Coby Mercier tied the contest at 15-all with 1:36 left in regulation, Saint Joseph’s faceoff win led to a goal from Michaud to lift the hosts over the Raiders in the closing seconds.

Heitmiller led the offensive charge for Rivier with six goals and an assist. Michael Zapatka had six points, scoring a hat trick while adding an equal number of assists. Connor Eck and Mercier had four points apiece while Mercier recorded a team-best five ground balls. Sawyer Gagnon took the loss in net despite 12 saves.

Rivier went 3-for-4 on extra-man opportunities while completing 18 of its 21 clear attempts.

Next up, the Raiders will return home for a 6 p.m. GNAC showdown against Regis (Mass.) on Wednesday, April 3 at Merrill Field.

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