Postseason Preview: Men’s Lacrosse To Host Saturday GNAC Quarterfinal Matchup Against JWU-Providence
NASHUA, N.H. – The Rivier men's lacrosse team secured the top seed in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) North Division prior to the conference tournament after concluding the regular-season on a four-game winning streak. This marks 12 consecutive seasons that the Raiders have qualified for the playoffs under head coach James Delanoy.
The Raiders will play host to the No. 4 team in the South, JWU-Providence, in the GNAC Quarterfinals on Saturday, April 27 with the opening draw set for 1:00 p.m. at Merrill Field.
The Raiders finished the regular-season with a 10-6 overall record, going 8-2 in conference matchups while posting a 5-1 record in divisional matchups.
After opening up the season with a 12-7 win over Curry on home turf, Rivier underwent a four-game skid, falling short in two of those matchups by one goal.
The Raiders righted the ship with a three-game winning streak with wins coming over Albertus Magnus, Hartwick, and Dean.
After narrowly falling on the road to Saint Joseph's (Me.), Riv bested Regis (Mass.) and Mitchell in conference games before dropping a non-conference tune-up to Wheaton (Mass.).
That would be the final loss of the year for the Raiders, who strung together gritty performances in the final four contests of the season to down New England Col., Emmanuel (Mass.), Norwich, and Anna Maria over an 11-day stretch to hop into first place in the North leading into the postseason.
The Raiders have been led offensively by reigning GNAC Offensive Player of the Year and senior attack Michael Ference again in 2024, as he sits third in the conference in points with 73 after dishing out 36 assists. He sits atop the Raiders' all-time points leaderboard with 274.
Following Ference in points is classmate Coby Mercier, who added 57 points on 30 goals and 27 assists from the midfield position this year. Midfielder Michael Zapatka recorded 55 points in a breakout junior season with 34 goals. Chris Heitmiller has 36 goals to his credit while Connor Eck tallied 27.
Defensively, Adam Hailey and Parker Williams led the caused turnover category with 22 and 15, respectively. Williams owns a slight edge over Hailey in ground balls secured with 42.
Senior goalkeeper Sawyer Gagnon ranks fourth in the GNAC in goals-against average (9.91) and fifth in save percentage (.570). In his 12 starts in 2024, he has made 146 saves and posted a 6-5 record.
The Wildcats finished fourth in the South following Wednesday night's loss to Lasell, which bumped them to 9-6 (7-3 GNAC) posting a 4-2 record against opponents in their division in the campaign.
For JWU, junior midfielder Donny McInnis has been the offensive spark, scoring 41 goals while tacking on 15 assists. Defensively, Mike Catuosco has forced 42 turnovers in his graduate season while scooping a conference-leading 158 ground balls. His 11.08 ground balls per game slot him sixth in the nation. Prior to the season, he was named to the Inside Lacrosse Preseason Division III All-America Honorable Mention Team and will cause havoc for the Riv offense.
The Raiders are 6-3 in the all-time series against the Wildcats dating back to the 2014 season. Riv is 4-0 when defending home field and has won the last four meetings between the sides.
The winner of Saturday afternoon's clash will face off against the winner of No. 2 (South) Dean and No. 3 (North) Saint Joseph's (Me.) on Wednesday, May 1.
