Men’s Lacrosse Storms Past UNE, 16-5

Nashua, N.H. — Three Raiders recorded hat tricks as the Rivier men's lacrosse team bested the U. of New England (UNE) 16-5 on Wednesday evening at Merrill Field.

With the victory the Raiders improved to 3-1 while the Nor'easters fell to 4-3.

Graduate student Michael Ference struck first for Rivier, scoring unassisted just 59 seconds into the contest. Senior Michael Zapatka followed at the 5:37 mark of the first quarter, and graduate teammates Coby Mercier and Connor Eck added back-to-back goals to push the Raiders ahead 4-0, prompting a Nor'easters timeout. UNE responded with its first goal of the game, but graduate student Adam Hailey netted his first of the season to close out the quarter with Rivier leading 5-1.

UNE then capitalized on two man-up opportunities over a ten-minute stretch, cutting the deficit to 5-3 with 4:52 remaining in the half. Just before the horn, Ference struck again for his second goal of the game, sending the Raiders into halftime with a 6-3 advantage.

Rivier kept the momentum rolling in the second half, as senior Chris Heitmiller buried a pass from classmate Sawyer Hall. Ference followed soon after, securing his hat trick and extending the Raiders' lead to 8-3 with 10:03 remaining in the third. UNE managed to grab a goal back, but Rivier responded with a 5-0 run to close out the quarter. Eck fueled the surge with two quick goals to complete his hat trick, sending the Raiders into the final frame with a commanding 13-4 advantage.

Heitmiller and first-year Aiden Conley struck early in the fourth quarter before Zapatka capped off the scoring, completing his hat trick and reaching his 100th career point as the Raiders cruised to a 16-4 victory.

Eck, Ference, and Zapatka led the Raiders' offensive charge, each tallying five points with three goals and two assists. Heitmiller followed with three points and added two ground balls. Mercier and Hall each contributed two points, while senior Joseph O'Reilly dished out two assists and collected three ground balls. Defensively, senior Parker Williams, junior Scott Miller, and sophomore Cole Ronalter shared a team-high two caused turnovers.

At the faceoff X, junior Owen McDuffie won 13-of-15 draws (86.6%) and secured team-high nine ground balls. Graduate student goalie Sawyer Gagnon recorded eight saves in the contest.

The Raiders outshot the Nor'easters 43-27 and won the ground ball battle 42-39. They also dominated at the faceoff X, securing 17-of-24 draws (70.8%), while holding a 10-6 edge in caused turnovers.

Rivier returns to action on Wednesday, March 19, for a road matchup against Curry at Walter M. Katz Field. Face-off is slated for 4:00 p.m.