HENNIKER, N.H. – The New England College men's lacrosse team could not keep up with the second half surge made by visiting Rivier University in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) action on Saturday afternoon at Don Melander Field in Henniker, New Hampshire. 

THE BASICS 
Score: Rivier University 11, New England College 7 
Records: Raiders 7-6, 5-2 GNAC | Pilgrims 3-9, 2-5 GNAC 

HOW IT HAPPENED 

• Looking to maintain momentum after a convincing win at Anna Maria College on Wednesday, NEC opened up with the first goal of the game with a literal 2-1 punch as junior attacker Thomas Norton (Mansfield, Mass.) led senior attacker Matt Daley (Plymouth, Mass.) towards the goal crease where Daly flipped it in high enough to go in. Yet, the celebration would only last less than three minutes as Rivier silenced the crowd after a goal from junior midfielder Sawyer Hall (Windham, N.H.) who juked his way into an opening to strike the ball in. Immediately after, seven seconds after the subsequent faceoff, freshman faceoff specialist Noah Zemen (Nashua, N.H.) picked up the ground ball and went full steam ahead to put the Raiders ahead. The rest of the quarter was all bumps and bruises and nothing more as Rivier held on to a 2-1 lead heading into intermission. 
• 54 seconds of play after the short break, the Raiders wasted no time in adding onto the lead as senior midfielder Colby Mercier (Boscawen, N.H.) slung in a low lining shot across the home goaltender's face. The visitors from Nashua would tack on two more scoring plays to make it a 5-0 run with a 6-1 lead. With 3:22 left until halftime, the 'Grims needed to draw up something in a hurry as they embarked on a 3-0 run including a well-drawn-up play on the fast break where freshman defender Brody McGonigle (Concord, N.H.) scooped up the loose ball in his own territory where he then ran to Daly, who would skip-pass to junior attacker Henri Pfeifle (Darien, Conn.) for his 42nd goal of the season with 16 seconds remaining, but would still be down slightly 5-4 going into halftime. 
• A cross-body shot from Rivier's senior attacker Michael Ference (Salem, N.H.) would start the third quarter with a bang but would later be answered by freshman midfielder Duncan Fleming (St. Paul, Minn.) who glided around the goal crease before striking one in to bring NEC back within one. Ference would take back what he intended to do in supplementing his team's lead as he forces the ball in with very little space to do so. The Raiders would end the third period of play with a 7-5 lead. 
• Rivier would not stop adding gas to the fire as they connected on three more goals within a four-and-a-half-minute span where Ference contributed on one of them and Mercier came back into play with the other two. Pfeifle would halt the opposing run with a powerful bounce shot that found its way into the net for the 'Grims. That would be answered by junior midfielder Michael Zapatka (Newington, Conn.) as he crouched down to squeeze in the goal past the goaltender's feet. With the game getting out of reach with 1:37 remaining in regulation, senior midfielder Joey Olsen (Mansfield, Mass.) would curve one in off the ground but would not be enough as the Raiders would come away with a compelling 11-7 win in an in-state rivalry. 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS 

• NEC freshman goalkeeper Nate Finn (Norwood, Mass.) would rack up 13 saves on the afternoon. 
• Rivier senior goalkeeper Sawyer Gagnon (Gorham, Maine) tallied five saves in the win to bring his record to 4-5 on the season. 
• Pfeifle led the way for the 'Grims with two goals, an assist, two ground balls, and three caused turnovers. 
• The Raider's player of the game was Ference who led with a hat-trick and two assists to go along with a ground ball. 
• Rivier's shots were more than doubled than the 'Grims as they led 42-20. 
• The Raiders would dominate the faceoff battle convincingly 19-2. 
• NEC was 18/24 on clear attempts while Rivier was 14/18 on the afternoon. 

UP NEXT 

• NEC is back on the field on Wednesday, April 17th when they host the Cadets of Norwich University on Don Melander Field at 6:00 PM. 
• Rivier stays on the road for their next game as they will face the Emmanuel College (Mass.) Saints at Roberto Clemente Field with a start time of 7:00 PM. 

For continuing coverage of New England College Athletics, visit athletics.nec.edu and follow the Pilgrims on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.