Men’s Lacrosse Downs Curry in Season Opener, 12-7

NASHUA, N.H. – The Rivier men's lacrosse team kicked off the new campaign with a 12-7 victory over Curry in non-conference play on Saturday afternoon at Merrill Field.

The Raiders improved to 1-0 while the Colonels fell to 1-2.

Curry got on the board twice in the opening 3:46 with goals coming from Mac Kline and Anthony Lewis. Rivier's Joseph O'Reilly and Chris Heitmiller responded with goals assisted by Michael Ference to knot things up at 2-2 with 9:58 left in the first quarter. The Colonels would retake the lead just 2:57 later as Connor Bryant scored an unassisted goal to put the visitors on top, 3-2, following 15 minutes of action.

Rivier would go on to respond with a four-goal swing, beginning with Connor Eck's first tally of the contest and capped off by Jeffrey Potter's first goal with 4:29 left to give the hosts a 6-3 advantage. Brody Dalzell scored on a man-up situation with 3:06 left in the half to cut the deficit to two goals at the break.

Coming out of halftime, the Raiders' offense once again exploded for three goals in the opening 6:07, including two goals from Heitmiller, to increase their lead to 9-4. Curry would add a goal in the final five minutes to keep it a four-goal game with 15 minutes to play.

Coby Mercier would score and assist on back-to-back Rivier goals to open the fourth quarter, increasing the Raiders' lead to 11-5 with 12:48 left to play. Heitmiller would score his fifth goal of the game with 5:36 left. Curry's Sedam and Silva would score in the final 5:21, but the push would be too little, too late as the Colonels dropped below .500.

Rivier was outshot by Curry, 24-20, with Raiders' senior goalkeeper Sawyer Gagnon making 17 saves in the triumph.

Ference led the offense with two goals and four assists while Heitmiller scored a game-high five goals. Ference, Eck, and Gagnon each led the team with four ground balls apiece. Ference caused three turnovers while Scott Miller caused two.

The Raiders were successful on 18 of their 24 clear attempts. Curry edged Rivier, 12-11, in faceoffs.

Rivier will continue non-conference action with a road tilt at Roger Williams on Saturday, March 2 at 1:00 p.m. at Bayside Field.