Men’s Lacrosse Pushes Past Anna Maria, 17-8, Secures Top Spot in North

PAXTON, Mass. – A career-best seven-goal output from senior attack Michael Ference guided the Rivier men's lacrosse team to a 17-8 win against Anna Maria on Wednesday evening in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) action at Caparso Field.

The win for the Raiders was their fourth straight which concluded their regular-season with a 10-6 (8-2 GNAC) record, earning them the top spot in the GNAC's North Division heading into the conference postseason tournament. The AMCATS fell to 2-13 (1-8 GNAC) and will miss the playoffs.

The Raiders would end the first quarter with a 4-2 lead over the hosts with two goals coming from Ference.

Anna Maria battled in the second frame, grabbing four goals while limiting the high-scoring Rivier team to three, cutting their deficit to one, 7-6, at halftime.

Ference would put away three goals in the third, with Anna Maria sneaking in one. Eck then tallied one of his two goals, increasing the Raiders' lead to 11-7.

Rivier dominated the fourth quarter to secure the defeat of the AMCATS. Six Rivier goals were recorded while Anna Maria scored just once on a man-up advantage. The Raiders outscored the AMCATS, 10-2, in the second half.

Along with Ference's seven goals, he contributed three assists, three ground balls, and one caused turnover. Chris Heitmiller added three goals and Jeffrey Potter totaled four assists and two ground balls. Owen McDuffie went four-for-seven in the faceoff circle.

Riv was able to get 50 shots off to Anna Maria's 40. Samuel Tibbetts got the start in net for Riv and made 10 saves in his fourth win in between the pipes this year.

The Raiders will host a GNAC Quarterfinal contest versus the South Division's No. 4 seed, JWU-Providence, on Saturday, April 27 with the opening faceoff set for 1:00 p.m. at Merrill Field.