Box Score NORTHFIELD, Vt. – Norwich University used a 14-goal first half attack to fuel a non-conference win at Howard Field April 12.
The Cadets (7-0) jumped out to a 14-4 halftime lead and didn't look back en route to a 23-6 win over in-state foe Green Mountain College. Coach Beth Van Parys' squad, winning its 13th straight home game, used a strong individual effort from senior midfielder Kacey Abbriano (Hicksville, N.Y.) to lead the way.
Abbriano scored five of her six goals in the first half. She and sophomore middie teammate Grace Fitzpatrick (Falmouth, Maine) were an effective one-two punch for the Maroon and Gold, as Fitzpatrick scored the first goal in the opening minute and added three more later in the first half. Abbriano closed the game with six goals and three assists for a nine-point game, while Fitzpatrick ended with five goals and an assist.
Green Mountain (2-6) did put up a strong fight. Sophomore midfielder Johanna Douglas scored four goals, three of which came during a five-goal run that spanned the final 2:40 of the first half and the early stages of the second half to cut the Cadets' lead to 14-6. However, Abbriano stemmed the comeback with her sixth and final goal less than five minutes in to the second stanza to ignite a 9-0 run.
Abbriano also topped NU in shots (12) and shots on goal (11). Sophomore midfielder Liz Chapdelaine (Somerset, Mass.) recorded a team-best six ground balls. Freshman goalkeeper Rebecca Horgan (Topsfield, Mass.), in her start, picked up the win in net with one save.
Norwich returns to the field Saturday, April 14, with their final 2012 regular season road trip when they take on St. Joseph's College of Maine in a 1 p.m. start at Deering High School's Memorial Stadium in Portland, Maine.
NOTES – Abbriano now has an 18-game multiple-goal streak intact dating back through the early part of 2011, while Fitzpatrick has reached similar marks in five straight contests. … Four times this season Norwich has reached 20-goals-or-more. … Going into the clash with the Monks this weekend, Norwich owns a 22-game Great Northeast Athletic Conference win streak. NU is the lone overall unbeaten in the conference and trails fellow league unbeaten Lasell by a half-game on the standings.
