Raiders lose on the road

Raiders Fall At Norwich, 20 – 7 – Amaral Hits 25 Goal Mark In Loss

NORTHFIELD, VT. – Norwich University used an 11-goal first half performance to lead the way to a 20-7 Great Northeast Athletic Conference win over Rivier April 5.  The Raiders fought back to stay in the game, but a 5 goal run from Norwich in the 1^st half pushed the half time score to 11 – 4.  

The Maroon and Gold, earning their 21^st consecutive GNAC win, received a pair of goals from sophomore midfielder Grace Fitzpatrick (Falmouth, Maine) and senior midfielder Kacey Abbriano (Hicksville, N.Y.) to open a 4-0 edge less than five minutes in. Rivier, dropping to 1-5 overall and 0-4 in league play, battled right back with three straight scores to make it 4-3 with inside of 15 minutes to play.  Lauren Brett (junior, Otisfield, ME), Rebecca Wickens (sophomore, Tyngsboro, MA), and Jessica Amaral (sophomore, E. Providence, RI), assisted by Brett, got the goals for the Raiders. 

Norwich responded with five successive goals to help lead the way to an 11-4 halftime advantage. Abbriano and Fitzpatrick combined for 10 of the 11 Cadets' first half goals.

The host side managed to put the game out of doubt with four goals in the first six minutes of the second half to open up a 15 – 4 lead.  Amaral tallied back to back strikes within 1 minute of each other at 18:16 and 17:19 to nudge the Raiders back into the game at 15 – 6.  But, Norwich answered with a 5 – 1 stretch over the last 17 minutes of the game.  The lone Rivier goal came from Brett who led the Raider's attack on the day with 3 goals and 1 assist. 

Abbriano and Fitzpatrick ended with seven goals each. Abbriano, moving to 26 goals on the season, hit her number on 13 shot attempts, which was also a team-best, while Fitzpatrick tallied her seven on 10 tries. The combo was also first in ground balls with five each.

Coach Beth Van Parys' squad received multiple-goal games from senior attacker Lindsey Mathias (Worcester, Mass.) and senior attacker Danielle Del Dotto (Andover, Mass.). Del Dotto totaled a five-point contest with a team-best three assists. Senior Meghan Kennedy (Lowell, Mass.) took the win in net with six saves.

Jessica Amaral reached a season highlight for the Raiders, reaching the 25-goal mark for 2012 with three. Amaral and Brett also paced the Raider attack on the day, with each firing five shots, landing 5 and 4 on goal respectively.  Wickens, the other Raider scorer on the day, recorded 4 shots, 2 on goal.  Hannah Wyatt (sophomore, Merrimack, NH) chipped in with 1 assist on the day.  Wickens led the team with 5 ground balls, and Vanessa Viola (sophomore, Nashua, NH) contributed 4 ground balls. 

Norwich resumes league play with a 1 p.m. start at Simmons College in Boston, Mass., Saturday, April 7.   Rivier hosts St. Joseph's College of Maine Tuesday, April 10, at 7 p.m.

NOTES: Abbriano registered six-or-more goals in a game for the third time. … Fitzpatrick's seven goals were a single-game best this year for the sophomore. … Norwich reached the 20-goal mark for the third time this season. … Thursday's win was the 12^th straight for the Maroon and Gold on their home field.