Rivier Jumps Out To 15-3 Season Opening Win Over Wheelock

The Rivier Raiders Men's Lacrosse team jumped out to a 15-3 season opening win over the visiting Wheelock Wildcats on Tuesday night at Raider Field. Rivier opened the scoring just two minutes and 4 seconds into the game, on a strike from Ryan Woolaver (freshmen, Tewksbury, MA), assisted by Mike Arricale (freshmen, Billerica, MA). By the time the clock had ticked away another sixty six seconds, Rivier had added two unassisted strikes from Danny Hooper (sophomore, Wakefield, RI) and Arricale, and they were up 3 – 0. The Raiders would not look back. The Raider win also had a nice twist to it – it is the 1st win as a head coach for Jay DeLanoy as he begins his collegiate head coaching career at Rivier.

Arricale (5G, 3A), Woolaver (4G, 1A), and Hooper (3G, 1A) formed a potent trio in attack on the night, combining for 12 goals and 5 assists. The trio paced the team and by the end of the 1st quarter the Raiders led 7 – 1. Combined with steady play in the back from Andrew Lucy (freshmen, Windham, NH) and Kevin Conley (junior, Nashua, NH), and strong transitional play from Carl Ghannad (senior, Salem, NH) – game leading 8 ground balls, Rivier held the 2nd quarter and closed out the 1st half leading 8 – 3. Chris Benoit (junior, Blackstone, MA) – 14 shots, 11 saves – turned in 3 solid saves over the course of the 1st half to keep the 5 goal margin, snuffing out Wheelock's few forays forward and frustrating their attempts to close the gap.

Any hopes of tightening the game were extinguished for Wheelock in the 3rd quarter with Rivier turning up the tempo and offensive ball control. Over the course of the 3rd quarter Rivier piled on 5 unanswered goals to put the game out of reach, driving their lead to 13 – 3. Again the attack was paced by the three Raiders, with Woolaver clipping in three goals and Hooper and Arricale adding one a piece. Ghannad frequently sparked the attack with his speed, caring balls from the defensive half to the offensive area, and picking up groundballs and getting them away to teammates. The Raiders outshot Wheelock nine to five and clearly pulled away over the course of the quarter. Wheelock put together two or three good scoring opportunities during the 3rd quarter, but again Benoit turned in steadying saves.

Arricale tacked on two more goals in the closing quarter and Rivier closed out the win. Over the course of the 4th quarter, the Raiders staked a claim to their home turf, and dominated play – they outshot the visiting Wildcats six to two, controlled the groundballs nine to four, and won both of the face-offs. Benoit flashed a nice grab on Wheelock's only strong scoring chance (one of only two shots allowed on goal in the final 15 minutes), snaring a low shot cleanly.

On an amazing spring day that gave way to a nice mid 60 degree night, the Rivier Raiders opened up their season in good form under the lights after the sunshine had faded. In addition to the numbers posted by Arricale, Woolaver, and Hooper seven other Raiders worked their way onto the score sheet. Dan Connelly (freshmen, Bedford, NH), Shawn Donovan (sophomore, Tewksbury, MA) – showing nice hands in front of goal to tuck one away, and Jeff Kelly (sophomore, Westborough, MA) all added goals. Carl Ghannad, Will Snider (senior, Old Bridge, NJ), Tim Wall (freshmen, Peabody, MA), and Jeff Kelly added assists. Snider and Kelly contributed nicely to the Raider attack, helping to maintain ball control and movement in the offensive half. Lucy and Conley anchored a solid defensive effort and Benoit was up to the task to shut down a majority of Wheelock's best shots.

But the night belonged to Woolaver, Arricale, and Hooper. Woolaver stood out during the game, frequently getting into the mix defensively and taking nearly all of the face-offs on the night. He had three highlights over the game though, with two hard long range shots for goals and capping of a quick passing play with some clever hands and stick work in tight to the net to sneak one through the Wheelock defense for a goal that had the crowd cheering. Hooper made a number of contributions by simply slowing the play down a tick or two and changing the pace with good ball control, stick work, and passing in the attacking area. He clipped in two quick strikes as well that stood out on his three goal night. Arricale was abuzz the whole night, frequently darting in and out of areas and looking for shots (9 shots overall, 6 on goal). And when he had looks, Arricale fired off a handful of hard, quick shots.

The Raiders will be back in action this Saturday the 17th, hosting the University of Maine-Farmington at 3:00 pm on St. Patrick's Day.