Women's Lacrosse Upends Dean, 15-8

FRANKLIN, Mass. – The Rivier women's lacrosse team took down Dean on Tuesday evening in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) clash by a final score of 15-8 at Grant Field.

With the win, the Raiders improved to 7-6 (4-5 GNAC), while the Bulldogs fell to 3-10 (2-7 GNAC).

The Raiders got on the board early, as Cassie Hemmerdinger found the back of the net for the fourth this season off a pass from Rachel Hinkley just 28 seconds into the contest. Three minutes later, Caitlin Newell would score off a Sarah Lachance assist to make it a two-goal cushion. Lachance would record two additional points in the opening quarter with a goal and another assist, this time on Bailey Carroll's goal with 1:10 remaining in the frame, giving the Raiders a 5-2 lead. 

Dean would start the second quarter by cutting the lead to two, however, Rivier would keep the Bulldogs at bay going into the half with a 9-4 edge. The Raiders scored four goals in the quarter, including three in the final seven minutes of the half, two of which came off the stick of Newell to secure her hat trick. 

Coming out of the half, Rivier's two-goal lead was quickly cut down 9-6 with a pair of Dean goals coming in the first 3:16. The Raiders would answer starting at the 8:55 mark in the third quarter when Sofia Cebrero buried her second of three goals in the contest. Lachance would score an unassisted goal in the waning minutes of the third to lead it 11-6.

Hemmerdinger and Hinkley would link up again to open the fourth quarter scoring and give Rivier a six-goal lead. Ashley Wilder then scored on two straight man-up opportunities, followed by a Cebrero goal completing her hat trick to make it 15-7. Dean would tack on one final tally in the final four minutes, but Rivier would hold on to take its fourth conference win of the campaign.

Lachance led the points department with six, followed by Cebrero and Newell tallying four points apiece. Hemmerdinger secured a team-high 10 groundballs while Lachance had six of Riv's 11 draw controls.

Lindsey Kruger stood tall in net, making 10 saves on 18 shots on target. 

The Raiders will hit the field for the second to last time this regular-season on Saturday, April 20 as they face off against a GNAC South opponent, Mitchell, with the opening draw set for 12:00 p.m.