NASHUA, NH – Saint Joseph's College (5-6, 4-0 GNAC) remained undefeated in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) play with a 14-8 victory over Rivier University (6-5, 4-2 GNAC) in men's lacrosse action on Wednesday afternoon.
The contest was tight in the opening half as the Monks held a slim 7-5 lead over the Raiders going into intermission, but the Royal Blue proceeded to score four unanswered markers in the third quarter to secure an 11-5 cushion and maintained an advantage of at least five goals for the remainder of the contest.
The visiting Monks were paced by sophomore Andrew Sullivan (Rochester, N.H.), who scored four goals and added three ground balls, and junior Jake Ricciardi (Sharon, Mass.) who netted three markers in the victory. Dalton Eldridge (South Gardiner, Maine) chipped in two goals and an assist while Ahmed Dorghoud (Alexandria, Va.) and Jeremy Sampsonis (Shrewsbury, Mass.) contributed five ground balls a piece on the afternoon.
Senior netminder Christopher Driscoll (Saco, Maine) was solid in goal, making 17 saves while letting up eight scores in 60 minutes between the pipes.
Freshman Rob Auer (Salem, N.H.) led the Raiders offensively with four goals and two assists while David Bray West Suffield, Conn.) produced a pair of markers and a helper and Kyle Graham (Londonderry, N.H.) chimed in with a goal and two dimes with a game-high 11 ground balls in the losing effort.
Freshman keeper Clark Plummer (Londonderry, N.H.) made 16 stops in the cage for the hosts.
Saint Joseph's got off to a strong start, outshooting the Raiders 13-4 in the opening quarter. The Raiders were able to keep the game close and tied the tilt at five-apiece when Auer netted an unassisted tally with 1:39 left in the first stanza. But the Monks retaliated quickly with scores from Ricciardi and Eldridge to regain a lead that would not be relinquished.
With the victory, Saint Joseph's improves to 4-0 in the history of the series with Rivier University.
Both teams host conference contests this Saturday, as Saint Joseph's takes on Lasell College at 1:00 PM at Deering Memorial Stadium in Portland and Rivier faces off against Becker College in a 1:00 PM face-off.
Saint Joseph's College is Maine's only Catholic liberal arts college, providing a supportive, personalized and career-focused education for more than 100 years. From its 350-acre campus on the shores of Sebago Lake, the College offers more than 40 undergraduate programs to a population of approximately 1,000 students. Saint Joseph's College Online provides certificates, undergraduate and advanced degrees for working adults through an online learning program. For more, visit www.sjcme.edu.