Men's Lacrosse: Raiders open season with win over Nichols, 8-7

Story written by: Hayden Barbosa, Rivier University Assistant Sports Information Direcor

(Nashua, N.H.) Rivier University Men's Lacrosse opens thier season up with a win at home against against Nichols College 8-7.

They're back! One of the Raiders most proficient attackers, sophomore Dylan McSparren (Warwick, R.I.) and team favorite, senior goalkeeper, Matt Cloutman (Peabody, Mass) were both instrumental in securing today's season opening win.  McSparren let off 5 shots on goal tonight, 4 of them resulted in goals, he also handed off 2 assists for a total of 6 points.  Cloutman and his defensemen, held off a relentless attack from the Bison, recording 13 saves on the night, several of them were in the final minutes of the game.  Guarenteeing his teammates their first win.

Senior Colby Larsen (Winham, N.H.) notched 2 goals, 1 of which was the game winning goal. Senior Chris Pennie (Wilmington, Mass), and Nick Ackerman (Durham, N.H.) both chipped in with a goal apeice.

The Bison put up a fight until the very end of the match, challenging the Raiders defense with shot after shot.  Jeffrey Wenzel led the Bison's attack with 3 goals after taking 9 shots.  Teammates Brendan Coates contributed 2 goals and Casey Campanale and Hugh O'Donnell tallied a goal apiece.  

Coach Delanoy returns 4 of the six student-athletes who were honored with GNAC All-Conference accolades in 2018. Colby Larsen is a two time, Second Team All Confrence earner. He finished the 2018 campaign leading the team with 36 goals scored and 46 points. He appeared in all 16 games played, starting 15 of them.  Seniors, Sean Brady (Tewksbury, Mass) and Eric Guinasso (Pelham, N.H.) earned their first career All-Conference selections. Brady contributed on the offensive end for the Raiders as he wrapped up his season with 24 goals scored, 15 assists for 39 total points. Guinasso played in 15 contests racking up 16 goals and 22 assists for 38 points.

Sophomore Jack Nordin (Dunbarton, N.H.) was the youngest Raider to be selected to the All-Conference team as he was tabbed a Third Team defenseman. Nordin finished second on the team with 35 groundballs and seven caused turnovers while consistently being matched up with the opponent's top offensive attackman. He appeared and started all 16 games and scored two goals out of the three shots he took on net.

The Raiders will host Mitchell College (0-2) on Wednesday, March 6th at 6PM in Nashua, N.H.. The Bisons (1-1) will host Anna Maria (2-2) on Saturday, March 2nd, in Dudley, Mass. at 12PM.