Men's Lacrosse fall short 11-8

(Providence, R.I.) The Rivier Men's Lacrosse team fell this afternoon on the road against the Johnson & Wales University Wildcats by the score of 11-8. With the loss, the Raiders drop their season record to 11-4 (3-4 GNAC). As for the Wildcats, they improve their season record to 7-6 (5-2 GNAC).

This was a very tough matchup for the Raiders in this one. Although Rivier is perfect in non-conference competition, it seems as though their GNAC rivals are giving them the most trouble this year. The game began with Johnson & Wales scoring the only 3 goals to begin the first quarter. Goals at the 10:19 mark, the 9:23 mark, and the 1:27 mark, gave the Wildcats the early 3-0 lead heading into the second.

The Wildcats were also able to begin the second quarter with another goal, pushing their lead to 4-0. The Raiders however, dug deep and began to chip away at the Wildcat lead. Kyle Graham (Londonderry, N.H.) scored the first goal for the Raiders off of a nice pass from Cody Lynch (Salem, N.H.) at the 12:39 mark of the second. Less than 17 seconds later, Cody Lynch (Salem, N.H.) was able to score again for the Raiders to cut the lead to 4-2. Kevin Dembkoski (Salem, N.H.) joined the Raider scoring attack with a beautiful strike at the 10:41 mark, assisted by Kyle Graham (Londonderry, N.H.) Five minutes later, the Raiders struck again when Cody Lynch (Salem, N.H.) notched his second goal of the game.

Unfortunately for the Raiders, the Wildcats would end up scoring the final 3 goals of the half to take the 7-4 lead heading into the break. Rivier however, would answer immediately into the third quarter with a Cody Lynch (Salem, N.H.) strike from Kyle Graham (Londonderry, N.H) at the 9:38 mark. Just when the Raiders were able to pull to within two goals of the Wildcats, they were able to string together a 3-0 run starting at the 6:22 mark, and ending at the 1:15 mark of the third.

Down 10-5 heading into the fourth, the Raiders need to put together some excellent offensive and defensive possessions in order to come back from the deficit. Rob Auer (Salem, N.H.) was able to trim the lead to four when he scored his unassisted goal at the 14:22 mark. Tyler Tambouris (Hooksett, N.H.) scored again for the Raiders at the 13:54 mark to trim the Wildcat lead to three goals. Cody Lynch (Salem, N.H.) scored his 4^th goal of the game at the 12:39 mark to cut the Wildcat lead to just two goals. Unfortunately, Johnson & Wales would end up scoring the final goal at the 7:02 mark to seal the victory.

Rivier was led by Cody Lynch (Salem, N.H.) who was able to record an impressive 4 goals and 1 assist for the Raiders. Kyle Graham (Londonderry, N.H.) was able to add 1 goal and 2 assists on the evening while teammates Rob Auer (Salem, N.H.), Kevin Dembkoski (Salem, N.H.) and Tyler Tambouris (Hooksett, N.H.) were each able to add one goal each for the Raiders.

For their next contest, the Rivier Men's Lacrosse team will finish up their regular season when they host Albertus Magnus College on April 18^th at 4:00pm. As for the Wildcats, they will also finish up their regular season as they host Mount Ida College on April 18^th at 1:00pm.