Rivier's Luiggi Ferreira got the clnching penalty kick to land the Raiders in the GNAC semfinals. (:Photo courtesy of Rivier Univiersity)

NASHUA – A late three-goal surge lifted the Rivier women’s soccer team to a 3-0 GNAC Quarterfinal win over Saint Joseph (Conn.) Saturday evening at Joanne Merrill Field.

With the victory, the Raiders improved to 13-4-2 (11-1-1 GNAC) and advanced to their second straight semifinal matchup. With the loss, the Blue Jays conclude their season at 6-11-1 (6-7-1 GNAC).

The Raiders are set to host No. 3 Lasell for the GNAC semifinal round, Wednesday at 6 p.m. on Joanne Merrill Field.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Raiders set the tone early, holding a 13-2 shot advantage over USJ in the opening half.Despite several promising opportunities on both sides, the 0-0 stalemate remained through 78 minutes of play.

Sophomore Leah Morrier broke through in the 79th minute, slotting home first-year Hayleigh Young’s over-the-top feed. Junior Cadance Ryan then connected with first-year Bailey Gatchell for a header just four minutes later to double their lead.

With less than two minutes after that, Ryan added the final tally to seal the win for the Raiders.

BOX SCORE BREAKDOWN

The Raiders owned a 29-3 edge in shots, including 15 on target…Riv held a 5-1 advantage in corner opportunities…This marks Senior Bri Nugent’s third straight clean sheet.

MEN’S SOCCER

GNAC QUARTERFINALS

RIVIER 2, EMMANUEL 1

With a chance to clinch the match, sophomore Luiggi Ferreira buried the fourth and final penalty kick to lift No. 2 Rivier past No. 7 Emmanuel (Mass.) in Saturday’s Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) quarterfinal match at Joanne Merrill Field.

With the win, the Raiders move to 8-4-7 overall and 8-2-2 in GNAC play, while the Saints finish their season at 7-4-7 (5-4-3 GNAC).

The Raiders will square off against No.6 Norwich Tuesday, Nov. 4 in the GNAC Semifinal game. Kick-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Joanne Merrill Field.

The Raiders broke through in the 20th minute when first-year Vincent Arsenov sent a ball into the box, to classmate Tanner Keenan redirected it to sophomore Kamar Matthew-Murray for the opening goal.

The Saints leveled the score mid-way through the second half.

The score remained knotted at 1-1 at the end of regulation, forcing overtime.

After two 10-minute overtime periods with no goals, the contest entered a penalty shootout

First-year David Perreira found the back of the net, followed by junior Logan Clough coming up with a big stop to give Rivier the advantage

Sophomore Alejandro Quezada netted his try, but Joe Anderson for Emmanuel (Mass.) converted to keep the game close

Arsenov put the Raiders up 3-1 in the penalty shootout, with Clough making a massive save against the oppositions

The Saints flipped the script on the fourth try, converting their kick and denying Rivier their game sealing opportunity

Luiggi Ferreira stepped up to the dot and found twine to seal the contest and send the Raiders to the GNAC Semifinals for the first time since 2001

As a team, Rivier outshot Emmanuel (Mass.) 14-8…The Raiders dominated the corners battle 10-0…Clough recorded three saves in net.

Quezada led the offense with four total shots, two on target.

FIELD HOCKEY

DEAN 6, RIVIER 3

With the result at Longley Athletic Complex., the Raiders finish the 2025 season 5-14 (3-7 GNAC), while the Bulldogs move to 14-7 (9-1) and advanced to the GNAC Semifinals against No. 4 New England Col.

Junior Brianna Spinelli put the Raiders on the board five minutes into the first quarter, finishing a feed from senior Reilly Swislosky for a 1-0 lead.

Dean evened the score three minutes into the second quarter off a penalty corner.

With seconds left before halftime, the Bulldogs scored to take a 2-1 lead.

Dean added two goals in the third quarter to extend the lead to 4-1.

Swislosky cut the deficit to 4-2 with a goal for the Raiders.

The Bulldogs answered with another tally to make it 5-2 heading into the final frame

Dean opened the fourth quarter to push the lead to 6-2.

Spinelli capped off the scoring with her second of the day, assisted by first-year Lexi Davies.

Dean outshot Rivier 20-12….The Raiders held a 9-4 advantage in corner opportunities….Senior Lily Gifford recorded six saves on 12 shots faced.

Following Rivier’s second post-season appearance in three seasons under head coach Hayley Sutherland, the Raiders look to return to the GNAC Postseason for the second straight season and compete for a championship in 2026.