Women’s Lacrosse Pulls Away From Colby-Sawyer, 10-8

NASHUA, N.H. – Sophomore Sofia Cebrero tallied six points to lead the Rivier women's lacrosse team to a 10-8 victory over Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) opponent Colby-Sawyer to secure the program's first-ever win against the Chargers on Saturday evening at Joanne Merrill Field.

With the win, the Raiders improved to 5-3 (4-1 GNAC), marking their best conference start through five games in program history. Rivier also snapped an eight-game skid against Colby-Sawyer in the all-time series, which dates back to 2016. Meanwhile, the Chargers fell to 5-4 (2-3 GNAC) with the loss.

Senior Sarah Lachance put the Raiders on the board first, scoring off a feed from first-year Keegan McGaheran to give Rivier an early 1-0 lead. Colby-Sawyer responded with a quick surge, netting three goals in a span of 3:13 to go up 3-1 midway through the first quarter. First-year Brooke Carter halted the Chargers' run with a free-position goal, and Lachance added a late tally to knot the game at 3-3 by the end of the opening frame.

A quick goal from Colby-Sawyer put the Chargers back in front, but Cebrero responded with her first goal of the game to even the score once again. The Chargers then capitalized on a free-position attempt and added another goal less than two minutes later to regain a two-goal advantage with 7:59 remaining in the first half. First-year Ashlynn Ledoux and Cebrero answered with unassisted goals, tying the game for the fourth time and sending the teams into halftime knotted at 6-6.

Cebrero completed her hat trick just one minute into the second half, giving Rivier its first lead since the early 1-0 advantage in the opening quarter. Colby-Sawyer responded by netting the equalizer two minutes later. Both teams had man-up opportunities down the stretch of the third quarter but were unable to capitalize, sending the game into the final period tied at 7-7.

Rivier regained the lead just 59 seconds into the fourth quarter when Ledoux scored to make it 8-7 in favor of the Raiders. Colby-Sawyer tied the game for the sixth time at the 7:05 mark before Cebrero netted her fourth goal of the game off a feed from senior Cassie Hemmerdinger to give the Raiders a 9-8 lead with 5:16 remaining. Two minutes later, Cebrero added her fifth goal to extend Rivier's lead to its largest of the game and sealing the 10-8 victory for the Raiders.

Cebrero led the Raiders with five goals and one assist, adding three ground balls and three caused turnovers. Ledoux contributed two goals and an assist, while Hemmerdinger finished with three assists, four ground balls, and a game-high nine caused turnovers. Lachance tallied two goals, four ground balls, and a team-high four draw controls, surpassing the 200-career draw control milestone in the process.

Senior goaltender Rachel Hinkley recorded five saves in the contest.

The Raiders return to action on Wednesday, April 2 for a GNAC showdown against Mitchell in the Mental Health Awareness Game. The opening draw at Joanne Merrill Field is scheduled for 6:00 p.m.