Rivier's Sarah Lachance reached the 300 career point mark in the Raiders win at New England College on Saturday. (Photo courtesy of Rivier Athletics)

HENNIKER – Senior Sarah Lachance reached the 300-point milestone Saturday afternoon at Don Melander Field, leading the Rivier women’s lacrosse team to a 13-11 victory over Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) rival New England College (NEC) to extend the program’s best-ever winning streak to five games.

With the win, the Raiders improved to 7-3 (6-1 GNAC) while the Pilgrims dropped to 5-7 (3-3 GNAC).

Lachance converted on a free-position attempt just 1:55 into the game to give Rivier an early lead, but NEC responded 22 seconds later to tie it at one apiece. The Pilgrims took their first lead at the 12:10 mark, but Lachance answered with her second goal of the game to even the score midway through the first quarter. Both teams found the net in the closing minutes, with Rivier’s goal coming from the stick of first-year Keegan McGaheran.

First-year Ashlynn Ledoux notched her 20th goal of the season with the opening score of the second quarter. NEC responded less than a minute later to tie the game for the fourth time. Senior Cassie Hemmerdinger then reclaimed the lead for Rivier with an unassisted goal at the 10:49 mark, putting the Raiders ahead 5-4. The Pilgrims answered quickly, netting two goals in a 46-second span to take their second lead of the game, 6-5. Sophomore Sofia Cebrero became the fifth different Raider to score, leveling the game once again. NEC added two more goals to go up 8-6 with five minutes left in the half, but Hemmerdinger and Lachance responded with goals of their own, sending the teams into halftime tied at 8-8.

Hemmerdinger secured her hat trick just 47 seconds into the second half, taking a feed from Cebrero and firing past the Pilgrims’ goalkeeper to mark the fourth lead change of the game. NEC responded immediately, but Lachance followed with her fourth goal of the afternoon to push Rivier back in front, 10-9. Both teams added late goals in the quarter, with McGaheran finding the net again to give the Raiders an 11-10 advantage heading into the final frame.

Off the opening draw of the fourth quarter, Cebrero found the back of the net just 16 seconds in, securing her 30th goal of the season. Hemmerdinger followed with her fourth of the game, giving the Raiders their largest lead of the night at 13-10. Rivier’s defense tightened down the stretch, forcing four turnovers over the final eight minutes to seal a 13-11 victory.

Lachance led the way with four goals and an assist, while also collecting three ground balls and a team-high seven draw controls. Hemmerdinger added a career-high four goals and one assist, along with two caused turnovers and two ground balls. Cebrero contributed four points on two goals and two assists, while McGaheran chipped in with two goals and a caused turnover. On the defensive end, sophomore Shaelyn Burke tallied three ground balls and two caused turnovers.

Senior goalkeeper Rachel Hinkley posted a career-high 12 saves to earn her fifth win of the season.

The Raiders narrowly outshot the Pilgrims, 35-34 and forced 28 turnovers while committing just 19. Additionally, Rivier converted 19-of-24 clear attempts (79.1%) and held NEC to just 13-of-22 (59.0%).

The Raiders look to extend their winning streak on Tuesday when they host Simmons in a GNAC showdown at Joanne Merrill Field. Opening draw is set for 7 p.m.

MEN’S LACROSSE

RIVIER 14, DEAN 9

Hat tricks from first-year Aiden Conley and graduate student Coby Mercier propelled the Rivier men’s lacrosse team past Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) rivals, Dean, in a GNAC Semifinals rematch at Grant Field.

With the win, the Raiders increased their winning streak to six games and improved to 8-1 (5-0 GNAC). The Bulldogs fell to 8-2 (2-2 GNAC).

Conley opened the contest’s scoring with two unassisted goals over the course of 4:57, giving Rivier the early lead. Senior Michael Zapatka followed up with an unassisted tally to put the Raiders out in front, 3-0. Dean recorded its first goal of the contest at the 7:50 mark of the first quarter however, back-to-back goals from graduate student Michael Ference and senior Chris Heitmiller gave Rivier a 5-1 advantage. The Bulldogs answered with their second goal of the opening frame to bring them within four goals. As time was expiring Conley secured his first collegiate hat trick to once again give Rivier a four-goal advantage.

Both squads traded scoring possessions to begin the second quarter. Mercier secured his first goal of the game on a dish from Conley just 3:05 into the second quarter. Dean countered with a goal of their own just 45 seconds later to cut the Raiders’ lead to 7-3. Zapatka logged his second tally of the contest on a feed from junior Sean Callinan to regain a five-goal lead. The Bulldogs found twine for their second in the quarter just before graduate student Connor Eck and Heitmiller contributed two more goals, giving Rivier a 10-4 advantage heading into halftime.

The Raiders struck first once again in the third quarter, with Mercier logging his second goal of the day at the 12:14 mark of the third. Dean recorded its fifth goal of the game at the 10:05 mark to bring them within six goals. Mercier secured his hat trick off a pass from Zapatka with just 3:13 remaining in the third quarter. The Bulldogs potted their sixth goal of the contest with just 28 seconds remaining in the quarter.

Dean continued to build some momentum off the back of its late third-quarter goal, scoring two quick tallies to begin the fourth quarter. The Raiders answered with goals from Ference and Eck to give Rivier a 14-8 advantage. Dean scored one final goal with 13 seconds left in the game, bringing the contest to a close with Rivier securing the victory, 14-9.

Graduate student Sawyer Gagnon posted 14 saves in the win. Mercier led the offensive effort for the Raiders, earning six points on three goals and three assists. Conley followed closely behind with four points, coming on three goals and an assist. Junior Owen McDuffie contributed 11 ground balls and won 15 face-offs, both of which were game highs.

As a team, Rivier led in clears with 22, faceoffs with 15, and slightly edged Dean in ground balls, 26-25.

The Raiders look to keep the unbeaten GNAC streak alive with a matchup versus Saint Joseph’s (Me.) on Wednesday. Face-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Joanne Merrill Field.

MEN’S VOLLEYBALL

RAIDERS SPLIT EMMANUEL TRI-MATCH

The Rivier men’s volleyball team downed Emmanuel (Mass.) in straight sets before falling to the host school, Emerson, in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) tri-match at Brown & Plofker Gym in Boston.

With the split, the Raiders concluded their regular season with an 11-16 (6-8 GNAC) record. All three teams that participated in the tri-match have qualified for the GNAC Tournament, with the Saints earning the third seed, the Raiders receiving the fifth seed, and the Lions securing the sixth seed.

Rivier, a confernce finalist last year, will head south on Tuesday to face Regis (Mass.) in the GNAC Quarterfinals with a 7 p.m. first serve from Higgins Court.

Rivier 3, Emmanuel (Mass.) 0

The Raiders were victorious over the Saints by set scores of 25-21, 26-24, 25-22 as junior Matthew McCloskey paced the offense with 16 kills, hitting at a .367 clip.

First-year Cody Fitzpatrick recorded 10 kills, hitting .304, and eight digs. Classmate Cade Barron dished out 31 assists in the victory.

Emerson 3, Rivier 1

Rivier was unable to overcome a 2-0 match deficit despite a third set victory to drop the final match of the afternoon by scores of 27-29, 19-25, 25-23, 27-29.

Senior Bassam Awde had eight kills at a .545 clip while junior Matthew McCloskey continued his impressive afternoon, notching a team-high 11 kills, producing a .360 hitting percentage. First-year Nilson Perez came in off the bench and passed out 25 assists in the outing.