The Raiders celebrate during their rout of Mitchell on Wednesday at Merrill Field. (Courtesy photo by Gabby Cabral/Rivier Athletics)

NASHUA, N.H. – Senior Sarah Lachance surpassed the 200 career goal milestone as she led the Rivier women’s lacrosse team to an 18-1 victory over Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) opponent Mitchell on Wednesday evening at Joanne Merrill Field.

With the win, the Raiders increased their winning streak to four games and improved to 6-3 overall and continued their best start in conference play at 5-1. The Mariners fell to 1-6 (1-4 GNAC) with the loss.

Mitchell struck first, scoring at the 12:57 mark, but Rivier responded as Lachance and sophomore Sofia Cebrero netted two goals within 40 seconds, giving the Raiders a 2-1 lead they would never relinquish. Lachance added two more goals in the next three minutes, securing her hat trick just 6:14 into the game. First-year Brooke Carter and junior Bailey Carroll extended the Rivier lead, each adding a goal to push the advantage to 6-1. First-year Ashlynn Ledoux notched her first goal, followed by scores from Cebrero and sophomore Alysha Hok, as Rivier carried a commanding 9-1 lead into the second period.

Rivier kept up the pressure as Lachance potted her fourth goal of the game with 13:17 remaining in the half. Ledoux, Carter, and first-year Keegan McGaheran each added goals throughout the frame, extending the Raiders’ scoring run to 12 straight goals and securing a 13-1 halftime lead.

Coming out of the break, Lachance scored three more goals to bring her total to six on the day while reaching the 200-goal career milestone. Senior Abby Nadeau notched her first goal of the season, and junior Ashley Talbot added her second late in the final frame as Rivier sealed an 18-1 victory.

Lachance led the Raiders with an 11-point performance, tallying six goals and five assists while also securing six draw controls. Cebrero notched a hat trick and added an assist, while Carter contributed two goals, two assists, and four ground balls. Ledoux finished with two goals, one assist, and four ground balls. Carroll recorded three points while leading the team with three caused turnovers and adding two ground balls. Senior Cassie Hemmerdinger collected a team-high five ground balls.

Rivier outshot Mitchell 35-4 while holding advantages in ground balls (27-11) and draw controls (15-7). The Raiders converted 11-of-13 clears (84.6%), while limiting the Mariners to just 13-of-21 (61.9%). Defensively, Rivier forced 26 turnovers while committing only 13.

The Raiders return to action on Saturday, April 5 for a GNAC road matchup against New England Col. The opening draw at Don Melander Field is set for 1 p.m.

MEN’S LACROSSE

RIVIER 23, MITCHELL 4

Fueled by a 10-point performance by senior Michael Zapatka, the Rivier men’s lacrosse team came away with a victory over Regis (Mass.) in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) action at Regis Stadium in Weston, Mass.

The Raiders increased their winning streak to five games with the victory, improving to 7-1 (4-0 GNAC). The Pride fell to 2-7 (0-4 GNAC) with the setback.

Rivier got out to a 4-0 lead 7:45 into the opening quarter with graduate student Michael Ference assisting on three Raider tallies. Regis converted on a man-up opportunity to cut into the deficit. From there, Rivier poured in a dozen goals over a 30:22 duration which spanned three quarters to lead 16-1 late in the third quarter.

The Raiders outscored the Pride 7-3 over the final 19:15 to close out the victory.

Zapatka paced the Rivier offense, scoring seven times and adding three assists. Ference finished with seven points on one goal and six assists. Fellow grad Connor Eck added four goals and a pair of assists in the triumph. Junior Joseph O’Reilly and senior Scott Miller each posted a team-high two caused turnovers as part of the squad’s 13 caused turnovers. Miller recorded four ground balls.

First-years Mason Schultz, Tyler Zehr, and Ray Lynch each recorded their first collegiate goals.

The trio of first-year Liam Conley (11-12), sophomore Noah Zeman (8-8), and junior Owen McDuffie (8-11) went 27-of-31 (87.1%) on faceoffs.

Senior goalkeeper Samuel Tibbets earned his first win of the campaign, making five saves over 53:43 of action. First-year Jake Lydon came in to close out the contest, posting one save in his first collegiate appearance.

Rivier outshot Regis, 57-13, with 39 shots landing on target. The Raiders also won the ground ball battle, 47-17.

Next up, the Raiders will head to the Longley Athletic Complex to face Dean in a rematch of last year’s GNAC Semifinal game on Saturday, April 5. The start time is scheduled for noon.

MEN’S VOLLEYBALL

NO. 2 SPRINGFIELD 3, RIVIER 0

The Rivier men’s volleyball team was bested in straight sets by No. 2 host Springfield College in a non-conference match inside Blake Arena.

The Raiders fell by set scores of 15-26, 16-25, 15-25 to drop to 10-15 overall as the Pride, the second ranked team in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) poll, improved to 22-2.

Rivier used kills from five separate players, but ultimately fell as Springfield hit .300 in the opening set.

The second set had six tie scores, but after the game was tied at 11-all, back-to-back Raider errors allowed Springfield to take the lead for good. First-year Cade Barron posted two kills and two assists in the frame.

Springfield continued its control in the third set to earn the sweep.

Rivier will conclude its 2025 regular-season with a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) tri-match hosted by Emerson on Saturday at the Brown & Plofker Gym. The Raiders will clash with Emmanuel (Mass.) at 1 p.m. before facing off against the hosts in the 3:00 p.m. match.