NORTHFIELD, Vt. – The Norwich University men's lacrosse team celebrated Senior Day with a resounding 18-3 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) win over the University of St. Joseph (Conn.) on Saturday afternoon on Sabine Field.

The men's lacrosse program recognized its 11 seniors prior to the game as a tribute to the long-term dedication each has given to the team.

Norwich (6-2, 5-1 GNAC) strung together 14 consecutive goals to start the game and easily cruised to the win. St. Joseph (3-4, 2-3 GNAC) ended the run of goals when junior Matt Geurin beat senior Perry Grzela (Swampscott, Mass.) for the visitors' first goal of the game in the fourth quarter. Geurin would add another later in the period while sophomore Benjamin Green notched the first goal of the season to close out the scoring.

Five Cadets recorded multiple-goal games as the hosts received distributed scoring throughout the game. Leading the way was senior Russell Gilligan (Fountain Hills, Ariz.) who tallied four goals, including a pair of man-up goals, and an assist. Seniors Payden Masaracchia (Enola, Pa.) and Clyde Tamburro (Elizabethtown, Pa.) as well as junior Parker Campbell (Rockaway, N.J.) all notched a hat trick. Sophomore Callum Jones (Burlington, Ontario) contributed two goals and two assists.

With his hat trick, Masaracchia has now scored 26 goals this season and moved into seventh place all-time on Norwich's men's lacrosse leaderboard with 77 career goals. He passed Kyle Marzeoti (2007-10) and Ian Kennedy (2015-18) who both had 76 goals.

Two of the conference's top face-off specialists squared off for the second time this season. Freshman Thomas Muraski (Keller, Texas) had a cold start but heated up late to earn a slight edge at the X going 12-of-23 against fellow freshman Samuel Barbetti who was 9-of-20.

Senior Nick Kandra (Crofton, Md.) made the start in net to earn the win for the Cadets making six saves and not allowing a goal. Grzela closed out the game making a career-high five saves. Sophomore Trey McCann was saddled with the loss after making 14 saves in net for the Blue Jays.

Norwich will prep for one of its biggest games of the year on Tuesday when the Cadets travel to face GNAC rival Lasell on the road. Game time is scheduled for 4 p.m.