NEWTON, Mass. – The men's lacrosse team returned to the Boston suburbs for their recent conference game versus the Mustangs of Mount Ida. Looking to recover from a 10-1 loss served by Lasell over the weekend, the Cadets faced a two-goal setback against the Mustangs on their Athletic Stadium turf, falling 9-7 in the GNAC matchup.

Sophomore Joe Galante netted four of Norwich's seven goals, while freshman Ian Mendoza tallied two and classmate Andrew Dustin wrapped up the scoring with one point. Dustin also collected six ground balls, while sophomore Nate Fortezzo picked up seven. In net, freshman Mark Paradiso made nine saves.

The Mustangs jumped to an early 2-0 lead, but Galante was quick to answer with back-to-back goals to tie it up. Mount Ida notched two more to regain their advantage, as the score settled at 4-2 at the end of the first period.

The home team once again opened the period with a goal of their own, but sophomore Arron Canarelli found Galante in front of the net for his third goal of the day and the Cadets were able to keep it to a two-point game.

Before the end of the half, the Mustangs went on a run and made it a 7-4 game at the half. They added two more goals before a fire was lit under the Norwich Cadets and it was time for them to go on a run of their own.

Galante netted his fourth and final goal of the game, followed by Mendoza netting his two points back-to-back as he brought the Cadets within three points of their conference opponent.

With a minute remaining in the game, Dustin found the back of the net but Norwich was unable to find the time for those last two needed goals to force an overtime play.

Norwich is scheduled to host Johnson State on Thursday at 4:30 p.m. Stay tuned to www.norwichathletics.com to remain up-to-date about the time and location of this event.

-CADETS-