Wickens, Raiders roll past Blue Jays, 25-12
| 00:00 - | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
St. Joseph (Conn.) (3-9, 1-6 GNAC) | 6 | 6 | 12 |
|
Rivier (3-6, 2-5 GNAC) | 11 | 14 | 25 |
Raider Field, Nashua, NH – The Rivier Raiders defeated the visiting Blue Jays of Saint Joseph 25 – 12 on Wednesday night in a Great Northeast Conference (GNAC) game. The Raiders led 4 – 0 after 9 minutes and closed out the 1st half leading 11 – 6. They opened up the 2nd half with an 8 – 2 run and pulled away from the Blue Jays, scoring 6 more goals to tally 14 total in the 2nd half.
Rebecca Wickens (sophomore, Tyngsboro, MA) led the Raider attack on the night with 7 goals. Hannah Wyatt (sophomore, Merrimack, NH) added 6 goals and Jessica Amaral (sophomore, E. Providence, RI) added 5 goals. Lauren Brett (junior, Otisfield, ME) struck for 3 goals, Savannah Neuwirt (freshmen, Newbury, NH) tallied 2, and Christiana Demmons (freshmen, Nashua, NH) and Vanessa Viola (sophomore, Nashau, NH) added 1 each.
The Raiders received a strong performance in goal from Caleigh Bertolaccini (junior, Chelmsford, MA). Bertolaccini sparked the Raiders 4th goal, making a free position save on Dianna Soucier, which the Raiders turned into transition and Wyatt finished off. Bertolaccini made another free position save on Dayna Gambino at the 15:35 mark. At 8:55 she turned away a bid from the Blue Jays Rachel Foster, with Saint Josephs just a goal behind at 6 – 5. And, at the 7:07 mark, Bertolaccini made a nice 1 v 1 save on Gambino.
With 6:46 to play in the 1st, Erika Leitao scored for the Blue Jays to pull them within 1 at 7 – 6. The Raiders tightened up and scored 4 unanswered goals to close-out the 1st half leading 11 – 6. Wickens scored 3 of the 4 goals and Amaral, after hitting the post with 25 seconds to play, fired home with 6 seconds left in the 1st half to secure the Raiders 5 goal lead.
The Raiders took over the game in the first 7 minutes and 35 seconds of the 2nd half with an 8 – 2 run that put the game out of reach. Brett, Wyatt, and Amaral scored 2 goals each and Viola and Wickens added 1 each. Leading 19 – 8 after the 8 goal run, the Raiders controlled the game down the stretch and picked up a solid GNAC win.
The Blue Jays were led by Dayna Gambino with 4 goals. Erika Leitao scored 3 for the visitors. Giovanna Piasecki, Ariana Morasutti, Rachel Foster, and Dianna Soucier all tallied 1 goal apiece.
The Raiders return to action on April 21st at 1:00 pm versus Emmanuel College at home. Saint Joseph's next opponent is Emerson on the 21st.
