WATERVILLE, Maine – In the first round of the NCAA Tournament, the Norwich women's lacrosse team was paired with the 11th-ranked Mules of Colby College. Meeting the Mules on Bill Alfond Field on Wednesday afternoon the Cadets faced a season-ending 17-4 loss.
Senior Kacey Abbriano and freshman Grace Fitzpatrick accounted for two of Norwich's four goals, three of which came on free position shots. Junior Mollie Fitzpatrick earned the lone assist of the game, while senior Kellie Pickel wrapped up her four year career with nine huge saves for the Cadets.
The Cadets cleaned up 17 ground balls, as the Fitzpatrick sisters led with four apiece and Abbriano and Pickel each picked up three.
Looking at an eight-goal deficit at halftime, the Cadets had a rough road ahead of them in their second-half comeback efforts.
Abbriano had opened the scoring on a free position goal, but the Mules came back three minutes later to even the score.
The Cadets denied plenty of Colby's offensive pressure by holding strong on their defensive lines, causing turnovers and having their teammates there to pick up the ground balls and transition back onto attack.
In the fourth minute of action, the hosts took their first lead of the game, and soon went on an eight goal run.
Colby's Anne Geraghty recorded a hat trick in less than a minute of game time, starting when she received a pass from behind the net that had been arced perfectly out of Pickel's reach and with a quick one-timer, swished the back of the net. She netted her next two straight up the draws and rushing down field.
Norwich broke up the Colby scoring and the Fitzpatrick sisters combined for goal number two, as Mollie assisted Grace with 1:11 remaining in the first frame.
The level of competition each team had been prepped with for the season leading up to their NCAA appearances was quite different, as the score read 10-2 in favor of the home team.
In the NESCAC, the Mules finished third in the conference, while Norwich was undefeated in GNAC play. However, the level of play and competition each of these leagues provided was attributed with their associated teams, as Colby swiftly found each other for goal scoring opportunities at every chance.
Aside from their opponent's double-digit score, Norwich looked composed on the field and had a strong defensive presence, creating seven caused turnovers and denying shots on goal on multiple occasions.
Abbriano looked to open the second half with another Norwich goal, as Grace sped down the field and connected with junior Danielle Del Dotto. Del Dotto, finding Abbriano across the net, looked to set up the one-timer but the shot was denied by the Mules' goalie, Sarah Warnke.
Colby then answered back with a goal before Norwich could stage another attack. Like seconds before, Grace had control of the ball and used her speed to go coast-to-coast past her defenders. Finding Del Dotto in position again, Del Dotto passed back to the top of the circle to Mollie who wound up for a sniper, but shot high.
Norwich kept position, as the Fitzpatrick sisters looked to combine and Grace got the call for a free position attempt and was successful, putting Norwich's third goal on the board.
Colby went on another five-goal run before Abbriano came back with the final Cadets' goal on a free position shot, nearing the end of regulation time.
One more goal by the Mules put the final score at 17-4 and they would be moving on to the next round of the NCAA Tournament, expecting to face-off against Hamilton at 2:30 on Saturday.
The Norwich Cadets wrap up their 2011 campaign with an over 10-3 record, having made their second straight appearance in the first round of the NCAA Tournament and being back-to-back GNAC Champions, holding a perfect 8-0 record at the end of this season.
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