Rivier College Pressures Becker for 5-0 Win

Nashua, NH – Rivier College controlled the flow of the game for the entire 90 minutes of play to shut out the Hawks of Becker College 5-0 today in women's soccer action. The Raiders outshot the Hawks 22-5 and only allowed 2 shots on goal for the Hawks. It was the second shutout of the season for Rivier, who improved their record to 3-3 (1-1 GNAC) on the season, while Becker drops to 2-3 (0-0 NECC).

The Raiders jumped on the board early when, just 5 minutes into the game, freshman Morgan Greene (Acworth, NH) took a free kick from the left side of the box and placed the ball close to the near post where freshman Sarah Richard (Raymond, NH) was able to get a head on it for the goal. Greene then assisted on the Raiders next goal as she passed a ball from just past center of the field to a streaking Kaitlyn Souza (Wilmington, MA) who got past the defenders and shot the ball into the left lower corner to put the Raiders up 2-0. The Raiders continued to press on offense and got their next scoring opportunity after a series of corner kick miscues. Junior Meghan Hickey (Hampstead, NH) took a corner kick that was cleared back into her direction by the Hawks defense, Hickey then set up and booted another kick from almost the same place, that was again cleared by the defense back into her direction. The third time was a charm as Hickey then lofted the ball a little higher from the right sideline that bounced over the reach of the defense and the keeper to find the foot of freshman Rebecca Wickens (Tyngsboro, MA) for the goal. Less than 5 minutes later, Wickens led senior Heather Lefebvre (Haverhill, MA) through the box for the fourth goal of the half. The Raiders took a 4-0 lead into halftime.

The second half was much like the first, with Rivier controlling the tempo. Rivier was able to take six shots in the second frame, but it was a corner kick that put the final goal up on the board. Hickey placed a great corner into the middle of the box that a Hawks defender jumped and tried to clear with her head, unfortunately, the ball was sent into the wrong direction and found the back of the net for an own goal to finish the scoring with Rivier up 5-0. The Hawks were only able to get 1 late shot off in the second half which went wide of the net.

Becker's Jodi Theriault (Woodstock, CT) and Morgan Hazen (Woodstock, VT) were the only two players to get a shot on goal. Rivier's Christine Surber (Langdon, NH) made both saves in the first half and took home the win. Surber was replaced in the second half by Cassandra Brown (Somersworth, NH) who didn't see a shot on goal. Becker's Christina Boucher took the loss giving up all 5 goals and recording 6 saves.

The Raiders will travel across town to take on rival Daniel Webster College on Wednesday, September 22nd. The game is scheduled to start at 4:15 PM. Meanwhile, Becker will travel to Nichols College on the same day.