MOUNT IDA MEN'S LACROSSE
Wednesday, April 4, 2018
Alumni Field, Newton, Mass.
FINAL: MOUNT IDA 10, RIVIER 6
NEWTON, Mass. -- Senior Marcus Donahue (Braintree, Mass.) netted a hat trick to back a 14-save effort in goal from fellow senior Cam Hayward (Derry, N.H.) as Mount Ida extended its winning streak to three straight with a 10-6 Great Northeast Athletic Conference men's lacrosse victory over Rivier Wednesday evening at Alumni Field.
Donahue snapped a 2-2 tie early in the second quarter and sparked a three-goal run that gave the host Mustangs (4-6, 3-0 GNAC) a 5-2 advantage at the break, and after the visiting Raiders (3-6, 2-1 GNAC) closed back to within two on freshman Dylan McSparren's (Warwick, R.I.) marker 2:21 into the second half, Mount Ida scored four of the game's next five goals (including two by Donahue) to grab a 9-4 edge with 3:25 remaining in the third stanza. The squads traded tallies in the final 11 seconds of the frame before the contest settled into a defensive mode, as Rivier received the lone goal of the fourth quarter off the stick of junior Colby Larsen (Windham, N.H.) that accounted for the final margin.
Sophomore Dakari Eason (Norwalk, Conn.) added a pair of markers and two assists to finish with four points in the win for the Mustangs, who also received two goals from freshman Roman Dennis (Lewiston, Maine). Juniors Owen LaPorte (Farmington, Conn.), Dylan DiLena (Barre, Vt.) and Adam Lavallee (Pawtucket, R.I.) also tallied for Mount Ida, which received an assist from freshman Mike Alibrandi (Holliston, Mass.).
McSparren finished with a hat trick in the setback for Rivier, which received two goals from Larsen and a single marker from junior Sean Brady (Tewksbury, Mass.). Senior Joe Kelland (Watertown, Mass.) recorded three assists on the night for the Raiders, who also received two helpers off the stick of junior Eric Guinasso (Pelham, N.H.).
Hayward, who picked up an assist on DiLena's goal, made eight of his stops over the final 30 minutes of action to pick up his fourth victory of the spring for Mount Ida, while junior Matt Cloutman (Peabody, Mass.) recorded 10 saves in the setback for Rivier. The Raiders held a 33-32 overall edge in shots, but the Mustangs received 10 face-off wins from senior Alex Zito (Andover, Conn.) and held a 12-8 overall advantage on the draw for the contest.
Mount Ida heads to Auburndale, Mass. on Saturday afternoon to take on Lasell in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference clash beginning at 2:30 p.m., while Rivier hosts Emmanuel in a GNAC outing on Saturday afternoon in Nashua, N.H. that begins at 4:00 p.m.