NORTHFIELD, Vt. – The Norwich men's lacrosse team will look to start the 2021 season with back-to-back victories as it travels to Henniker, N.H. to take on nemesis New England College on Saturday at Don Melander Field at 1 p.m.
SERIES HISTORY
This will be the 37th meeting between the two programs dating back to 1969 when the Cadets initiated the series with a 20-4 victory. The teams have played every year since 2016 and twice in 2019 when the teams met in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Norwich has not fared well over time as suggested by its 5-31 all-time record against NEC. The Cadets have lost 21-straight times to the Pilgrims, having last claimed a victory on April 14, 1983, when Norwich needed overtime to upend the Pilgrims 9-8 at home. The last seven meetings have all been decided by three goals or less.
LAST MEETING
The teams last met on February 26, 2019, which saw the Pilgrims eke out a 12-11 win on Sabine Field. The Cadets gave up four-unanswered goals in the second quarter and were unable to score during the frame putting them behind early. Despite outscoring NEC 9-5 in the second half, the early deficit was too much to overcome. Junior Parker Campbell led the way for the Cadets with three goals and two assists while graduate Russell Gilligan scored a hat trick.
SCOUTING THE PILGRIMS
NEC (0-1) returns 23 players from a team that went 3-3 through a shortened season in 2020. The Pilgrims welcome back their top two goal scorers from a year again seniors Connor Smith (18G) and Patrick Storie (15 G) who accounted for 52.6 percent of the Pilgrims' offensive output. Also returning on the defensive side are senior David Benjamin and junior Andrew Noorigan who each caused seven turnovers and will help anchor the unit. Castleton appears to be without their top three defenders from 2020 and will rely on a relatively untested group of underclassmen. The experience of junior Tucker Anglemyer, graduate Mark Paquariello between the pipes will be a benefit to the Pilgrim's last line of defense with talented freshman Michael Catalano waiting in the wings for his opportunity.
NEC comes into the game after losing a close battle against Roger Williams, 13-9. The Pilgrims' offense took a half to warm up before staying even with the Hawks in the second. Smith and Storie led the attack accounting for five of the team's nine tallies with Smith notching the hat trick. Catalano got the start in net and turned aside 13 shots in his debut.
SCOUTING THE CADETS
Norwich (1-0) is looking to make break the streak against the Pilgrims and open the season with back-to-back wins for the first time since 2011. The Cadets are hoping the opening day win along with the return of several graduate students and the team's rising seniors will give the team some momentum allowing it to gel quickly.
Norwich recorded its most impressive win over Castleton in over 15 years with a 20-8 victory on the season opener. Graduate Jack Anzalone's career-high four assists added to his five goals resulted in a career-leading, nine-point effort from the captain. Seniors Kevin Horchak, Payden Masaracchia, and Gilligan each netted a hat trick with Horchak also picking up a trio of assists to give him a career-high six total points. Senior Nick Kandra stopped allowed just four goals while stopping six shots in 45 minutes of action.
LIVE COVERAGE
Due to safety precautions this season, no spectators will be allowed at the athletic facilities, however, the game will be streamed here.
UP NEXT
Norwich will initiate its Great Northeast Athletic Conference portion of the schedule next Saturday as the Cadets host Saint Joseph's (Me.) for a game at 1 p.m.
