Raiders shot down by Lasers

Raider Field, Nashua, NH – The Rivier Raiders dropped a Great Northeast Athletic Conference match today to the visiting Lasell Lasers by a final score of 20 – 2. Rivier faced an uphill battle against one of the GNAC's top lacrosse teams, currently leading the league at 7 – 0. Lasell used a 9 goal 1st quarter to pace them on the day. The Raiders put up a fight, but they eventually fell underneath the Lasers continued wall of offensive presence and defensive pressure.

The Lasell attack in the 1st quarter was led by Robbie Palazzo – 2 goals, 1 assist – and Dylan Gray's 3 assists, with Gray slowing the pace of the game down and setting the visitors attacking rhythm working from behind the net. Kevin Malloy and Jake LaMorte also contributed 2 goals apiece, while Adam Foss, Patrick Bresnahan, and Billy Wood chipped in 1 each. The Raiders mustered what they could for offense carving out a few opportunities, the best of which was a shot from Danny Hooper (sophomore, Wakefield, RI) just 10 seconds into the game that Don Berube saved for the Lasers. Chris Benoit (junior, Blackstone, MA) continued to battle in goal for the Raiders, making a nice stop before Palazzo picked up the rebound and tallied his second goal. With 8 seconds to play in the quarter, Benoit made another nice save to close out the 1st stanza.

The Raiders worked their way onto the score sheet in the 2nd quarter with Shawn Donovan (sophomore, Tewksbury, MA) pushing home a bouncing shot at the 7:41 mark. Hooper picked up the assist. At the 2:52 mark, Donovan again converted, on an assist from Mike Arricale (freshmen, Billerica, MA). Donovan's second goal capped off a good possession for the Raiders were they worked the ball in the offensive area, changing the point of attack three times before working the ball to the freshmen forward. Lasell tallied 6 more goals in the 2nd quarter. Gray added his first goal of the day and Mike Dupont tallied 2 goals and an assist. Wood added a second goal, James Finn and Jason Donovan added lone strikes and Bresnahan, Atticus Robert and Jon Elia added helpers. Benoit continued to work in the cage for the Raiders, turning in three strong saves. At the 7:41 mark he had a good reaction, pushing a bouncing shot wide right with a sharp check of the shaft of his stick, denying a good bid from Lasell's Bresnahan. At the 6:58 mark, Benoit shifted his whole body to the right, a good sharp reaction, which glanced Elia's shot just wide for the Lasers. And, with 26 seconds to play in the 2nd, Benoit turned in another save on Wood.

Leading 15 – 2 at the break, Lasell saw out the 2nd half with 6 more goals. Dupont picked up 2 more on the day, Charles Graham tallied 2 strikes, and Elia and Donovan added a goal each. Chris Benoit continued to compete with the Lasers' scoring bids, adding a handful of strong saves. At the 11:57 mark, Benoit stepped out well from the cage, and his challenging position left Joe Cunning little net to aim for and his shot sailed wide. At the 7:34 and 3:56 marks Benoit turned in good saves, again coming out to challenge the shooter on the second of the shots, and catching it to snuff out the chance. At the 10:16 mark of the 4th quarter, Benoit made a chest high save on Ladson Shaello-Johnson. And at the 5:50 mark, Benoit made a sharp catch on LaMorte's bid at goal. Rivier put together a couple of strong bids on goal. At the 6:24 mark of the 3rd, Hooper ripped a nice shot and it caught full on the crossbar and sprang away. In the 4th quarter, Ryan Woolaver (freshmen, Tewksbury, MA) had a good look at goal after the Raiders had moved the ball well in a man-up situation, but Luke Grayson made the save.

The Raiders return to action on Wednesday, April 18th at 8:00 pm versus cross town derby rival Daniel Webster College in a GNAC conference game. The Lasers play on the 19th, at home to Emmanuel in a GNAC conference tilt at 4:00 pm.