Men’s Lacrosse Soars Past Falcons, 19-8

NEW HAVEN, Conn. — The Rivier men's lacrosse team totaled 19 goals to Albertus Magnus' eight, grabbing its first Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) win of the season on the road at Celentano Field on Satuday afternoon.  

The Raiders collect their first conference win of the 2024 campaign, now sitting at 2-4 overall and 1-1 in GNAC action. The Falcons fell to 2-4 (0-2 GNAC) in the setback.

Michael Zapatka and Michael Ference each recorded three goals and one assist on the road today. 

Rivier would outscore Albertus Magnus in three out of four quarters, tying in the third with two goals apiece.  

Connor Eck tossed in the first goal of the contest at 14:06 in the first quarter with an assist generated by Zapatka. The Falcons answered with back-to-back goals taking their only lead of the game at 8:03, 2-1. Eck fired in his second goal of the quarter with an assist from Coby Mercier at 6:17. Chris Heitmiller of Riv would finish off the first with a goal at 2:55, with an assist credited to Ference.  

Two quick Raider goals in the second would increase their lead to 5-2 over the Falcons. The first goal was recorded by Noah Zeman five seconds into the quarter, unassisted. Sean Callinan was up next with an unassisted goal, one minute and 13 seconds after Zeman's. Jeremy Tremblay of Albertus Magnus scored two goals in a row to cut the Raiders lead to 5-4. Riv grabbed four more goals scored by Zapatka (unassisted), Alan Cozzolino (unassisted), Sawyer Hall (unassisted), and Ference (assisted by Mercier) all within four minutes of each other. Falcons' Tremblay with his third goal of the quarter at 3:14. The Raiders completed the half with two more unassisted goals from Zapatka, sending Rivier into the locker room with the 11-5 lead.  

Albertus Magnus would come out in the second half tallying two goals. Ference added on a man-down Raider goal in the third quarter at 6:13 unassisted. Eck picked up the final goal of the quarter with 4:48 to still to play, assisted by Mercier.  

Rivier outscored Albertus Magnus six to one in the fourth with six different goal-scorers. Heitmiller was up first taking advantage on the man-up unit with an unassisted goal, 14-7 Raiders in the lead. The Falcons' last goal of the contest was earned at 12:45. Ference, Joseph O'Reilly, David Lee, Trevor Reilly, and Callinan all with unassisted goals to secure the win at 19-8.  

Rivier outshot Albertus Magnus 47 to 21.  

Goalkeeper Samuel Tibbetts of the Raiders made seven saves in the outing and was tagged with the win. 

The Raiders will take on Hartwick at home on Merrill Field in a non-conference matchup with a face-off at 4:00 p.m.