NORTHFIELD, Vt. – Top-seeded Norwich University (16-1) fought past #8 Saint Joseph's College (5-13), 14-12, in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Men's Lacrosse Tournament quarterfinal on Friday evening.
With the win, Norwich advances to the semifinal round of the conference tournament and will host the winner of the #5 Johnson & Wales / #4 Dean College quarterfinal on Wednesday, May 4th. For Saint Joseph's, the setback signals the end of the 2022 campaign.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Norwich took a 9-6 lead into the half, but Saint Joseph's made it interesting coming out of the gates in the second half scoring five straight goals and held a 12-10 advantage after sophomore Timothy Goodfellow (Wayland, Mass.) scored with 57 seconds left in the third period. The Cadets were able to recover with four unanswered goals in the fourth quarter to regain the lead and seal the win.
TEAM STATS:
Both teams recorded 38 shots while the Cadets posted a 25-24 lead in shots on goal with advantages in ground balls (43-39) and face-off wins (22-7) on the evening. Norwich committed 27 turnovers while the Monks coughed up the ball just 18 times in the loss.
THE KEEPERS:
The Monks split time in goal with junior Brannon Gilbert making five saves in the first half and freshman Ryan Boutiette (Burrillville, R.I.) posting six stops in the second stanza.
Norwich goalies Andrew Vernon (Cheshire, Conn.) and Tommy Hopkins (Chelmsford, Mass.) recorded saves on 50 percent of the shots that they faced in the victory.
LEADERS – SAINT JOSEPH'S:
- Goodfellow scored five goals with three assists and seven ground balls and registered 18 shots, including 13 on target
- Juniors Max Lacy (Salisbury, N.H.) and Xavier Michaud (Wales, Maine) scored two goals apiece
- Freshman Calvin Heline added a goal and two assists with four ground balls
- Freshman Anthony Samiotes (Hampstead, N.H.) chipped in with five ground balls and two caused turnovers
LEADERS – NORWICH:
- Parker Campbell (Rockaway, N.J.) tallied seven points on a goal and six assists in the matchup
- Payden Masaracchia (Enola, Pa.) had a team high four goals and one assist
- Callum Jones (Burlington, Ont.) scored three goals, including the game winning goal with 4:57 remaining in the fourth quarter, and dished out an assist
- Jack Anzalone (Ridgewood, N.J.) also tallied three points in the game with a pair of goals and an assist
- Thomas Muraski (Keller, Texas) won 22 of his 29 faceoff attempts while picking up eight ground balls
THANKS IN PART TO NORWICH UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION
