NORTHFIELD, Vt. - The Norwich University women's lacrosse held back a furious offensive rally by Elms College, breaking a seven-all contest en route to capturing to their second-straight Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) victory in a 14-11 thriller over the Blazers on Sabine Field on Wednesday night.

Athena Merck (West Yarmouth, Mass.), the reigning GNAC Rookie of the Week, continued her offensive romp, posting five goals to lead the Cadets.  Maddie Etherton (Johnstown, N.Y.), Valentina Drown (Acton, Maine), and Michaila Furchak (Nyack, N.Y.) all logged two goals apiece, while Ellie Moriarty (Stowe, Vt.), Neris Archambault (Pepperell, Mass.), and Abigail Kirrane (Lunnenberg, Mass.) all added a goal each.

The Cadets busted out of the gates on fire, as Merck initiated a 7-0 run spanning the first quarter less than three minutes into the frame.  Merck would finish with three goals in the stanza, book-ending the opening 15 minutes with a score with just a second remaining, while Furchak, Etherton, Archambault, and Kirrane all contributed goals.

Although it appeared as if Norwich would coast to victory, the Blazers refused to go away, kicking off the second quarter on a 7-0 spurt of their own, including five-straight goals in the opening four minutes.  Anna-Elise Pikul would notch the game-tying goal at the 5:14 mark, a knot held until Merck broke the ice just moments later.

Norwich would widen the gap again in the third quarter, after Elms' Taylor Borla brought the Cadet lead back down to one.  Furchak, Etherton, and Moriarty rallied for three in a row, before Furchak found Merck for Norwich's fourth goal of the frame.  Furchak's assist, which marked her third point of the contest, moved her into the top 10 in program history in career points with 110.

The Blazers would find a hint of life with a pair of tallies in the fourth, but an insurance goal from Drown would cease any momentum, leading the Cadets to their 14-11 win.

Maeve Noble-Lowe (Freedom, Maine) earned the win, pulling together nine saves to anchor the defense.

The win marks back-to-back conference victories for the Cadets, who close out the month of March with steam ahead of Saturday's showdown on Sabine Field against Simmons University.  Opening face-off against the Sharks is slated for 1:00 p.m.