NORTHFIELD, Vt. - Entering the playoffs as the number one overall seed and riding a seven-game winning streak, the Norwich University men's lacrosse team will square off with the number eight seeded Anna Maria AMCATS in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) playoffs opening round on Saturday afternoon. 

The Cadets put together a solid 11-5 overall record on the year and a nearly spotless 8-1 mark within the conference. They've won seven in a row, with their last loss coming nearly a month ago. The AMCATS put up a 4-13 record and a 2-7 record against conference opponents in 2018. 

SCOUTING REPORT - NORWICH

• Head Coach Neal Anderson leads the Cadets in his 10th season at the helm. A three-time GNAC Coach of the Year (2012, 2013, 2016), Anderson will look to lead Norwich to their second conference title after winning it all in 2013.
• On the field, Josh Jenkins (Centennial, Colo.) leads the offensive attack. The senior tallied 39 goals and 20 assists on the year for 59 points, all marks good for a top-5 spot in the conference statistical leaders. Jenkins became just the third Cadets player to tally 100 career goals this season on April 4 against Regis College, and currently has 118 goals in his career.
• Junior Cody Moore (Canton, N.Y.) has continued to elevate his play throughout the year and ended up with 31 goals and 16 assists for 47 points on the year.
• The combination of Zach Adler (Stratham, N.H.) and Thomas Carlson (Hebron, Conn.) have led the Norwich defensive unit all year, as the team has caused 132 turnovers and allowed only 9.62 goals against on average this year.
• Time in goal has been split between Ian Kriger (Burlington, Mass.) and Brandon Milburn (Bridgewater, N.J.), as the two have combined for 183 saves and a 54.1% save percentage on the season.

SCOUTING REPORT - ANNA MARIA

• Nate Mayo enters his fourth season as the Head Coach of the AMCATS, with a career record of 9-56 (.138).
• Sophomore Brandon Pavoni leads Anna Maria with 38 goals on the year, as well 12 assists for 50 points on the season. 
• Kyle Benning leads the team and sits fourth in the conference with 26 caused turnovers this year.
• The AMCATS goaltending responsibilities belong to Paul Schwarz, who leads all of NCAA Division III in saves per game with 22.50 per game. He's made 345 saves and allows 10.36 goals per game. 

HEAD TO HEAD

• The two teams met just one week ago in both team's regular-season finale, with the Cadets cruising to a 17-6 victory.
• Norwich now holds a 9-1 record over the AMCATS all-time.
• The last AMCATS victory over Norwich came in 2012, with Anna Maria squeaking out an 8-7 victory.
• The last playoff matchup came in 2013 in the GNAC Quarterfinals, with Norwich winning 19-6 on their way to a GNAC Championship victory that season.

DON'T MISS IT 

• Set to get started at 1:00 PM, the top-seeded Cadets will host Anna Maria on Saturday, April 28 at Sabine Field. A live broadcast and live stats will be available, with links to be shared on game day.