Men's Lacrosse: Raiders earn second win at home against the Mariners, 20-6

Men's Lacrosse: Raiders earn second win at home against the Mariners, 20-6

Story written and posted by Hayden Barbosa, Rivier University Assistant Sports Information Director

(Nashua, N.H)  It was a downright frigid last night on the hill.  Everyone was numb, the referees, spectators, game staff, even the visitors from Mitchell College.  However, the Rivier University Raiders were on fire!

Scoring started early and often for the Raiders as sophomore Dylan McSparren (Warwick, R.I.) netted an unassisted goal just two minutes into the match. Senior Colby Larsen (Windham, N.H.) scored his first after connecting with McSparren two minutes later. The duo connected two more times before the end of the quarter. McSparren finished with first quarter with 2 goals and 3 assists and Larsen with 5 goals and 1 assist.  

Upperclassmen, Eric Guinasso (Pelham, N.H.) netted 3, and senior AJ Gearin (Lunenburg, Mass) and senior Rob Fullerton (Wilmington, Mass.) netted a goal apiece. The Raiders first quarter performance amounted to a 12-1 lead.

Senior Kyle Marsh (Oakdale, Conn.) tallied the Mariners lone goal in the first quarter. He ended up tallying 3 more goals  before the end of the night.  Other contributors to the Mariners forth quarter-fight were freshmen Brandon Snyder (Lindenhurst, N.Y.) and sophomore Jake Shields (Hempstead, N.Y.) with a goal apiece. 

Other scorers included, rookie Nick Ackerman (Durham, N.H.) as he tallied 2 goals and senior Nick Wolfrom (Pelham, N.H.) contributed 1 goal. 

It wasn't without strong defense and successful face-offs that helped the Raiders sustain their lead. They collected a total of 19 ground balls and collected 9 turnovers, while edging out the visitors 19-26 from the center circle.

Senior Matt Cloutman (Peabody, Mass.) made 5 saves before being subbed out at the end of the half.  Sophomore Jake Destafano (Peabody, Mass.) and Ben Fitzpatrick stepped up and made a save apiece as they split the 3rd and 4th quarter to secure the win. Mariners goalie sophmore Marcel Quinlan (Uniondale, N.Y.) walked away with 9 saves.

The Raiders are slated to host the Vikings of Salem State University this Saturday at 1PM.  The Mariners will host Regis College at 4PM in New London, Conn.