BOSTON, Mass. -- Simmons soccer rebounded from a 4-1 deficit in the first half to defeat the Rivier College Raiders, 5-4 in Great Northeast Athletic Conference action Saturday afternoon. Sharks senior Ally Ayotte (Litchfield, N.H.) broke the stalemate at 69:09 to the give Simmons their second conference win of the season.

The Raiders got off to a quick start with junior Lauren Tampossi beating Sharks goalkeeper Briana Hayes (Manorville, N.Y.) at 2:31. Freshman Holly Slocum added a second at 8:14 before Simmons junior Desh Perera (Reading, Mass.) scored her first of the game to cut the lead in half. Rivier freshman Sahara Brown beat Hayes on the right side before Tampossi tallied her second of the game to give the Raiders a 4-1 lead.

Simmons began to chip away as junior Kristyn Heuslein (Manchester, N.H.) buried a long free kick over the head of Raiders goalkeeper Cassandra Brown. Ten minutes later, senior Alma-Lynn Dupont (Bowling Green, Ohio) brought the Sharks within one after a stellar effort in front of the net. With two minutes to play in the first half, Perera outran the defense and beat Brown 1v1 to tie the game at four.

After an offensive first half battle for both teams, Ayotte scored the only goal needed at 62:09 to lift the Sharks for the win. Hayes posted four saves in the win, while Brown recorded 12 in the loss.

The Sharks return to the field on Tuesday, September 25th when they travel to Albertus Magnus for a 4:00 p.m. GNAC match up.