NEWTON, Mass. – The road to the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Championship game runs through Sabine Field at Haynes Family Stadium. The Norwich University men's lacrosse team earned a 12-5 victory over Lasell to clinch the top seed in the GNAC tournament.

Jack Anzalone (Ridgewood, N.J.) scored four points on a total of two goals and a pair of assists, while Jake Andrews-Pestana (Napa, Calif.) had a team-high three goals. Tyler Seidel (Centreville, Md.) and Callum Jones (Burlington, Ont.) each had three points off of a goal and a pair of assists. Payden Masaracchia (Enola, Pa.) scored two goals and Parker Campbell (Rockaway, N.J.) had a goal and an assist tallying two points.

In net Tommy Hopkins (Chelmsford, Mass.) saved 80.8 percent of the shots he faced saving 21 shots in total. Thomas Muraski (Keller, Texas) won 70 percent of his face offs winning 14 and the Cadets outshot the Lasers 21-11 in the win.

The first quarter was all Norwich as Jones scored in the opening 1:31 as the Cadets took the early 1-0 lead. Norwich scored six straight to start the game as Andrews-Pestana, Masaracchia, Matt Meehan (Norfolk, Mass.), and Myles McKay (Lynnfield, Mass.) all added to the Norwich lead in the first quarter to take a commanding 5-0 lead. Anzalone then scored at the 10:18 mark in the second quarter to take a 6-0 lead.

Lasell scored when Landon Reyes put the Lasers on the board with 6:11 remaining in the first half, but Anzalone scored to regain the six-goal advantage. Reyes then struck with 43 seconds remaining in the second quarter to cut the Cadet lead to five.

After nearly 10 minutes of play in the second half, were played scoreless Andrews-Pestana struck, regaining a six-goal lead for Norwich. After a goal by Lasell scored with 3:11 remaining in the third, Norwich struck three straight times to take an 11-3 lead.

In the back end of the fourth quarter, Lasell scored a goal by Anthony DeRosa, but Andrew-Pestana followed with a goal of his own before Ryan Stone of Lasell closed out the contest with a goal with 4:08 remaining.

Norwich (15-1, 10-0 GNAC) will host Saint Joseph's (Maine) in a GNAC Quarterfinal contest at a date and time to be determined.