STANDISH, Maine – The Norwich University women's lacrosse team could not muster enough offensive firepower to stick with Saint Joseph's College of Maine, losing 17-6 in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) action on a soggy Wednesday evening at SJC Athletic Complex.

Norwich (0-3, 0-2 GNAC) remains winless in open the season while SJC (3-1, 1- GNAC) opened its conference slate with a win and has won three-of-four to start the 2021 season.

Saint Joseph's jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the first 1:19 of the game. A pair of goals from sophomore Valentina Drown (Acton, Maine) cut the lead to 3-2 with 19 minutes remaining in the first half.

The Monks would outscore the Cadets 4-1 for the remainder of the half to enjoy a 7-3 lead at halftime.

Three-straight goals by the hosts opened up the second half giving the Monks a 10-3 lead. That run was short-circuited by Drown's third goal of the game.

Unfortunately, the Cadets were unable to put together consecutive defensive stands, and a 5-0 run by SJC during the middle third of the half essentially locked up the win as the Monks utilized the 15-4 lead to cruise to victory.

The Cadets were at a substantial disadvantage in the draw circle winning just 7-of-25 draws which undoubtedly contributed to the 42-15 discrepancy in shots in favor of the Monks.

Senior Sydney Rocheville (Salem, Mass.) played very well in just her second start in goal turning aside 13 shots.

Drown led the offense notching her first-career hat trick in the loss. Fellow sophomore Allison Sturgeon (Monticello, Ind.) contributed a pair of goals and an assist.

Norwich will return to action Saturday when it travels to St. Joseph (Conn.) for another GNAC showdown with game time set for 1 p.m.