THE BASICS 

Score:             
Rivier University, 11; Emmanuel College, 8
Records:         
No. 6 Emmanuel College Saints (3-7, 3-5 GNAC)
No. 3 Rivier University Raiders (4-4, 3-4 GNAC)
Location:         
Nashua, N.H. – Joanne Merrill Field
Date:               
Saturday, May 1, 2021

THE LEAD:  No. 3 Rivier University erased a two-goal deficit heading into the final quarter to come-from-behind and top No. 6 Emmanuel College, 11-8, Saturday afternoon in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference men's lacrosse quarterfinals on Joanne Merrill Field.

HOW IT HAPPENED  

• Emmanuel controlled the action early on, racing out to a 4-1 first quarter lead behind goals from first year Aidan Sullivan (Burlington, Conn.), sophomores Drew Chant (Warwick, R.I.) and Derek DelVecchio (Saugus, Mass.), and junior Colin Dickinson (Barre, Vt.).
• Dickinson made it 5-1 just 1:20 into the second quarter before the Raiders rattled off four straight goals to even the score at 5-5 with 2:33 to play in the half, capped by back-to-back goals from Matty Babb (Windham, Maine).
• Dickinson answered to pull EC on top just 24 seconds later to make it a 6-5 contest heading into the halftime intermission.
• Rivier first year Michael Ference (Salem, N.H.) opened the second half with his first goal of the day to even the score at 6-6 before EC sophomore Ryan Castle (Boxford, Mass.) scored twice over the final seven minutes in the stanza, bumping the Emmanuel lead back to two at 8-6 through three.
• The Saints kept the Raiders in check over the first five minutes of the final quarter before first year Coby Mercier (Boscawen, N.H.) started the hosts run with 9:34 to play, cutting the EC lead to one at 8-7.
• RIV tied the game at 8-all just 19 seconds later on a man-up tally by Alan Cozzolino (Hamden, Conn.) before taking the lead for good on their second man-up score on the quarter from Dylan McSparren (Warwick, R.I).
• With 3:11 to play, Ference added a huge insurance goal to make it 10-8 before McSparren sealed the win with his second of the quarter to account for the 11-8 final.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS 

• Dickinson led all scorers with three goals on the day.
• On top of his goal, Cozzolino added an assist, 14 faceoff wins and a game-high seven groundballs for Rivier.
• Sawyer Gagnon (Gorham, Maine) made 14 stops to earn the win for Riv and move to 3-2 in goal on the year while Randy Castle (Boxford, Mass.) made seven saves for EC. 
• Emmanuel moves to 6-5 against the Raiders but has now dropped five straight to their New Hampshire neighbors.

UP NEXT

• Rivier heads to No. 2 Norwich University for a GNAC Semifinal meeting on Wednesday, May 5 at 7:00 PM in Northfield, Vt.
• Emmanuel closes the 2021 campaign with a 3-7 overall record and bids farewell to seven seniors.