NORTHFIELD, Vt. - In their first outing on Sabine Field in 10 months, the Norwich University men's lacrosse team posted their first shutout since the 2020 season, cruising to a dominant 22-0 victory over Mitchell College in the Cadets' home- and Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) opener on Friday evening.

A whopping 15 different Cadets scored, spearheaded by hat trick performances from Mitchell McKay (Lynnfield, Mass.) and Chris Smith (Dawsonville, Ga.), with the duo finishing with four and five points, respectively.  Christian Rainis (Wynantskill, N.Y.), Duncan Youngclaus (Middleboro, Mass.), and Case MacDonald (Burke, Va.) all tallied two goals apiece, with Youngclaus also dishing out a game-high three helpers.

Drew Fleury (Nashua, N.H.), Tyler Seidel (Centreville, Md.), David Myers (Hainesport, N.J.), Matt Meehan (Norfolk, Mass.), Jackson Forbes (Merrimack, N.H.), Liam O'Neill (Hingham, Mass.), David Gosselin (South Burlington, Vt.), Noah St. Germaine (Plymouth, Mass.), Christian Masonius (Belmar, N.J.), and Zachary Cooney (Victor, N.Y.) all added a goal each, completing the 22-goal onslaught.

The Cadets wasted no time asserting themselves, winning the opening face-off courtesy of Thomas Muraski (Keller, Texas) and blasting multiple shots on goal.  McKay kicked off the offensive affair, as Rainis found him less than three minutes in to give the Cadets their first goal.

Points came aplenty for Norwich after that, as the Cadets posted eight of their first 22 goals in the opening 15 minutes, drilling in the last four in the final three-and-a-half minutes of action.

Youngclaus continued the momentum right out of the gates in the second stanza, finding the back of the net 14 seconds in before Meehan scored on a man-up opportunity minutes later to push Norwich's lead into double-digit territory.  Goals 11, 12, and 13 came in less than a minute halfway through the quarter, with Smith responsible for the initial two.

The Mariners struggled to find much offensive flow as the Cadets continued pouring in goals, posting five in the third quarter, followed by a pair to close out the evening in the fourth.

Norwich was relentless offensively, tallying an overwhelming 66 shots to just four for Mitchell.  25 of those 66 came in the opening quarter, with the Mariners' Cameron Haefs logging 26 saves in the loss.

Luke Boland (Tolland, Conn.) earned his first win of the season, defending the pipes for just over 30 minutes.  Four different Cadets saw action in the net, as Boland was joined by Thomas Kelliher (Shrewsbury, Mass.), Nicholas Squatrito (Peterborough, N.H.), and Jared Fournier (Waterboro, Maine), all of whom proved successful against Mitchell.

The Cadets finished a near-perfect 16-18 on clear attempts, scooped up 43 ground balls, went 2-4 on extra man opportunities, and claimed 21 face-off victories.

The win marks the first shutout for the Cadets since Mar. 10, 2020, when Norwich blanked the University of Saint Joseph (Conn.), 13-0.  Tonight marks the 13th shutout in program history.

Norwich will step out of conference play for the next four contests, closing the month of February on Wednesday, Feb. 28, with a 4:00 p.m. home game against Plymouth State University on Sabine Field.  The Cadets will complete the three-game home-stand on Saturday, Mar. 2, hosting the United States Coast Guard Academy.