Men's Lacrosse: Raiders Rally Falls Short Against Lasell

Nashua – Trailing by as many as six goals late in the third quarter, host Rivier rallied to pull within one early in the fourth, but Lasell answered with a key four-goal flurry to pull away down the stretch and post a 19-16 victory over the Raiders in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference men's lacrosse matchup before more than 250 patrons Saturday at Raider Field.

The Raiders (6-8, 5-3 GNAC) trailed 3-0 early in the first but would storm back to grab a 6-4 lead in the second but the Lasers (6-6, 6-1 GNAC) answered with an 8-1 run covering the second half of the second period and early part of the third to take control.

Rivier, which closes the regular season on Wednesday at St. Joseph's of Maine at 7:00 p.m., is currently tied for fourth with Johnson & Wales and can clinch a home playoff with a victory. St. Joseph's sits a game behind with a 4-4 conference record. Lasell can jump into sole possession of first with a home victory over Mount Ida on Monday (4:00 p.m.).

Ryan Madden (Hingham, Mass.) came off the bench to register a game-high eight goals for the winners, with Alex McCormack-Kuhman (Wells, Maine) adding six points off two goals and four assists. Austin Tomasetti (Elsford, N.Y.) netted five points with a hat trick and two helpers, while Mike Susi (Gorham, Maine) chipped in with a pair of scores and one assist.

Eric Guinasso (Pelham, N.H.) led the hosts with six points, potting three goals and assisting on three others. Sean Brady (Tewksbury, Mass.) and Liam Ryan (Dorchester, Mass.) notched three goals and an assist each, while Dylan McSparren (Warwick, R.I.) scored three times and Joe Kelland (Watertown, Mass.) chipped in with two scores and an assist.

Matt Cloutman (Peabody, Mass.) stopped 13 shots in goal for Rivier. Ryan Janovic (East Lyme, Conn.) turned aside eight shots for Lasell.

Lasell, which earned a 24-14 advantage on face offs, was especially helped in special teams, converting on 6-of-7 man-advantage opportunities. Rivier went 1-for-2 on the power play.

The teams were tied at three after one period. Lasell led 9-7 at the half and 15-11 after three.

Prior to the contest, Rivier honored six seniors including Kelland, Ryan, George Landry (Nashua), Adam Fritchy (Wolfboro, N.H.), Max Tucci (Newton, Mass.) and Tyler Prendergast (Derry, N.H.).