Men’s Lacrosse Drops Heartbreaker to Dean in GNAC Semifinals

NASHUA, N.H. – The Rivier men's lacrosse team dropped a 13-11 decision to Dean in Wednesday night's Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Semifinals at Merrill Field.

The Raiders, who earned the North Division's top seed in the tournament, concluded their campaign with an 11-7 overall record. The second seed in the South, Dean, advances to the GNAC Championship on Saturday, May 4 hosted by No. 1 South Saint Joseph (Conn.)

Both offenses exploded for five goals apiece in the opening frame, with Jeffrey Potter, Michael Ference, Connor Eck, and Michael Zapatka finding the back of the net for Rivier.

The Bulldogs commanded the scoring in the second half, outscoring the Raiders 3-1 in the frame to take an 8-6 lead into the half.

Three consecutive Raiders goals momentarily gave the hosts the lead back as Ference's unassisted tally with 10:03 left in the third made it 9-8. Dean responded with three straight of its own to take control heading into the fourth quarter.

After Ference completed his hat trick to cut the Rivier deficit to one at 10:14, Alec Speirs lit the lamp for the Bulldogs to regain their two-goal advantage. Chris Heitmiller scored his first of the game three minutes later to make it a one-goal game yet again. Dean was able to maintain possession throughout much of the closing minutes of regulation, leading to a Speirs goal with 55 seconds remaining to punch the Bulldogs' ticket to the GNAC title game.

Goalkeeper Sawyer Gagnon made 10 saves in the loss as Dean outshot Rivier, 46-34. In the other crease, Elijah Beland made 12 saves.

Ference's four points led the Raiders' offense. In his final game in a Rivier uniform, Potter netted two goals and nabbed a ground ball. On the other side of the field, Parker Williams caused two turnovers while nabbing three ground balls.

Rivier went a perfect 17-for-17 on clear attempts while limiting the visitors to a 70.6% conversion rate (12-for-17).

Dean dominated from the faceoff spot, going 19-for-27 with Tyler Benedetto going 73.1%. The Bulldogs scored two man-up goals on three opportunities while Riv went 1-for-2.

The Raiders will look to return a key core of the roster in 2025 and return to the postseason for the 13th straight year.