NORTHFIELD, Vt. - The Norwich University men's lacrosse team saw an eight-goal lead evaporate against the visiting Wildcats of Johnson & Wales University, as the Cadets dropped a 14-13 decision in overtime on Saturday afternoon. 

After the Wildcats jumped out to a 1-0 lead early on, the Norwich offense got rolling, rattling off six straight goals on their way to a huge 10-3 advantage at halftime. Eric Russo, who punched one in for the Wildcats with 0:32 remaining in the first half, controlled the third quarter with back to back unassisted goals to help cut the Norwich lead to 11-5 heading into the final quarter.

The fourth quarter was all JWU, as the Cadets got outscored 8-2 and found themselves heading into a sudden death overtime period. Norwich had a pair of excellent chances to get the game-winner in the extra period, but Bradley Morris made a couple of excellent clutch saves for the Wildcats to keep the game going. Coming off a team timeout, the Wildcats got Brad Ketz deep into the offensive zone, but the Cadets managed to block his first shot. Ketz picked up his own rebound and did not miss his second shot, burying it in the back of the net to give Johnson & Wales the 14-13 win. 

A gut-wrenching loss for the Cadets still saw some very impressive individual performances. Josh Jenkins (Centennial, Colo.) racked up seven points on the day via four goals and three assists. Ian Kennedy (Gloucester, Mass.) picked up a hat trick for the third game in a row, and Cody Moore (Canton, N.Y.) had two goals and three assists for five points on the day. Jack Dwyer (Shelburne, Vt.) went 22-30 on faceoffs, and despite a hard-luck loss Ian Kriger (Burlington, Mass.) made 11 saves on the day. 

Eric Russo led the Wildcats with a monster six goal, two assist day, while Ben Farrell did his fair share of damage with three goals and three assists. 

The Cadets will stay on their home turf for their next tilt, when they take on the New England College Pilgrims on April 2. The game, originally scheduled for March 7 but rescheduled due to weather, will start at 6:00 PM.