NASHUA, N.H. - Junior midfielder Greer Gilbert (Falmouth, Mass.) tallied eight points and classmate Alexia Malone Oliver (Bristol, R.I.) netted five goals and added an assist to lead the Simmons College women's lacrosse team to a 20-10 victory over host Rivier University in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference contest this evening at Raider Field in Nashua, N.H. The Sharks win their third straight match to improve to 4-5 overall and 2-2 in league play, while the Raiders fall to 3-7 and 2-3.
Simmons has scored 20 goals twice in its last three games and has scored 56 markers in the last three contests. The Sharks outshot Rivier, 37-22, and held a 21-10 advantage in draw controls.
The teams traded three goals each, before the Raiders broke the trend with back-to-back scores from junior midfielder Jocelyn Park (Londonderry, N.H.) and senior middie Savannah Neuwirt (Newbury, N.H.) to give Rivier a 4-3 edge with 13:53 to go in the first half. It was the last lead of the night for the Raiders as Simmons reeled off eight unanswered goals, including three from Malone Oliver and one each from Gilbert, first year midfielder Kasey Fries (Bridgewater, Mass.), first year Kiera Kirkaldy (Middlebury, Vt.), junior attacker Alexa Faria (Cumberland, R.I.) and senior middie Ali Stonehouse (Dublin, N.H.), while Gilbert racked up three assists during stretch that gave the Sharks an 11-4 advantage with 78 seconds left in the half. First year midfielder Taylor Lirakis (Tewksbury, Mass.) broke the string for Rivier with a tally coming with five ticks left on the first half scoreboard to cut the deficit to 11-5 at the intermission.
The Raiders cut the margin to four goals with the first two markers of the second stanza, courtesy of a goal apiece from sophomore attacker Jane Farrell (Wilmington, Mass.) and Park to make it 11-7 at the 23:04 mark.
The Simmons offense regrouped with five straight goals, sparked by a pair of scores from senior attacker Stephanie Oliveri (Waltham, Mass.), followed by single goals from Kirkaldy, Malone Oliver and sophomore midfielder Sara Rademacher (North Haven, Conn.) to pad the Sharks' cushion to 16-7 with 14:56 remaining in the game. Neuwirt netted Rivier's eighth goal of the night, before Oliveri and Malone Oliver scored back-to-back goals to give Simmons its largest lead of the night at 18-8 with 11:45 to go in the match. The Raiders' sophomore midfielder Amanda Wickens (Tyngsboro, Mass.) and Neuwirt bookended a pair of goals from the Sharks' Gilbert and Stonehouse to set the final at 20-10 for the visitors.
Senior goalie Crystal Derosier (Kingston, Mass.) turned away six shots to earn the victory for Simmons, while junior keeper Danielle Moran (San Diego, Calif.) made 10 saves for Rivier.
Gilbert finished with five goals, three assists, eight draw controls and five ground balls for Simmons, while Malone Oliver collected three ground balls and three draw controls. Oliveri finished with four points, including three goals and added a ground ball. Kirkaldy registered a career-high three points, including a pair of markers in addition to a pair of ground balls and Rademacher posted a night of a goal, an assist, five ground balls and a pair of draw controls.
Rivier was led by three goals from Park and Neuwirt. Park added an assist and a pair of ground balls, while Neuwirt picked up four ground balls to go with a draw control. Lirakis scored twice and came up with five ground balls and Wickens recorded two points, including a goal, four draw controls and a pair of ground balls.
The Sharks will be in action again when they host neighbor and GNAC rival Emmanuel College on Saturday, April 4 at Roberto Clemente Field at 12:00 p.m., while the Raiders travel to West Haven, Conn. to take on University of Saint Joseph College at 4:00 p.m.