NORTHFIELD, VT —Five different players scored to lead the Norwich University men's lacrosse team to a 5-1 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) win against the Monks of Saint Joseph's College in the Cadets' home opener on Saturday afternoon.
With the win, the Cadets improve to 3-8 overall and 3-2 in league play, while the loss drops the Monks to 4-5 overall and 3-3 in GNAC action.
The Cadets started out strong, as Victor Bill (Nazareth, Pa.), Matt Flaherty (Portland, Maine), and Ian Mendoza (Mount Airy, Md.) all scored goals for Norwich. Bill scored on an assist by Seth Fuller (Wheaton, Ill.) with 9:51 to play. Flaherty tallied a man-up goal assisted by Mendoza with 5:13 left to play in the quarter, and Mendoza gave the Cadets a 3-0 lead with 2:17 remaining in the quarter on an unassisted shot.
Scoring slowed in the second quarter until the final minute, when Fuller netted a goal with 16 seconds remaining in the half.
The Cadets were unable to find the net in the third quarter, which allowed the Monks to cut into Norwich's lead. With 3:56 to play in the third quarter, Saint Joseph's junior Andrew Sullivan (Rochester, N.H.) scored, assisted by Dalton Eldridge (South Gardiner, Maine).
The Cadets added an insurance goal with 28 seconds remaining in the game as Mike Lavery (Penacook, N.H.) snuck a shot past Monks' goaltender Ethan Rettew (Ephrata, Pa.).
Rettew tallied eight saves in 57:50 of play between the pipes, while Norwich netminder Mark Paradiso (Westford, Mass.) recorded six saves in the complete-game effort.
Andrew Bracy (Carthage, N.Y.) and Brett Sewing (Brattleboro, Vt.) combined to win six of nine face-off attempts for the Cadets. Peter Troiano (Winchester, Mass.) scooped up a team-best four ground balls, while Brad Loomis (Saunderstown, R.I.) and Tom Crawford (Westbrook, Maine) matched Troiano with four ground balls each.
Both teams face GNAC opponents on the road on Wednesday, when Saint Joseph's travels to Mount Ida College for a 6:30 PM contest and plays at Emmanuel College at 7:00 PM.
COURTESY OF NORWICH UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION
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Saint Joseph's College is Maine's only Catholic liberal arts college, providing a supportive, personalized and career-focused education for more than 100 years. From its 430-acre campus on the shores of Sebago Lake, the College offers more than 40 undergraduate programs to a population of approximately 1,000 students. Saint Joseph's College Online provides certificates, undergraduate and advanced degrees for working adults through an online learning program. For more, visit www.sjcme.edu.
