NEW HAVEN, Conn. - The Norwich University men's lacrosse team clawed back from an early deficit and coasted to another Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) victory, taking down Albertus Magnus College, 15-9, at Celentano Field on Saturday afternoon.

Alex Johnston (Franklin, Tenn.) served as the catalyst of Norwich's offensive blast, posting five goals to pace the effort.  Duncan Youngclaus (Middleboro, Mass.) and Chris Smith (Dawsonville, Ga.) also tallied multiple goals with two, while Drew Fleury (Nashua, N.H.), Jack Haley (Falkville, Ala.), Jackson Forbes (Merrimack, N.H.), Tyler Seidel (Centreville, Md.), Christian Rainis (Wynantskill, N.Y.), and Mitchell McKay (Lynnfield, Mass.) all provided a goal each.

The Falcons got on the board within minutes, striking first at the 12:56 mark before following up a few sequences later to go up 2-0.  Norwich gradually whittled into the lead behind goals from Johnston and McKay, but Albertus Magnus had answers, taking a 4-3 lead into the first break after Smith snagged a score with 15 seconds left.

A man-down goal from Haley to start the second spurred a ferocious Cadet run, which would span until early in the fourth quarter, as Norwich outscored the hosts, 12-3, in that span.  Rainis earned the go-ahead goal a minute after Haley's, and Johnston ripped in another just seconds later.

A 5-0 spurt to open the third period locked in Norwich's dominant momentum, complemented by three more goals from Seidel, Smith, and Johnston to close the stanza and open the fourth.  The Falcons tallied two to wrap up the contest, but it was too little too late as Norwich rolled to victory.

The Cadets cruised in several categories, doubling up Albertus Magnus in shots, 54-27, while also corralling 34 ground balls.  Between Forbes and Thomas Muraski (Kelliher, Texas), the Cadets won 20 faceoffs to just seven for the Falcons, while the visitors also went 6-7 on clear attempts.  Mason McMahon (Norwich, Conn.) led Norwich in caused turnovers with four.

A pair of Cadets saw action between the pipes, led by a seven-save performance from Thomas Kelliher (Shrewsbury, Mass.).  Mason Dils (Watervliet, N.Y.) also locked down the crease, making a pair of saves in over 20 minutes of play.

Norwich continues its four-game trek with an out-of-conference tilt at Vermont State University Castleton on Wednesday, Mar. 27.  Scheduled for 7:00 p.m., that game will serve as the annual Connor Roberts Memorial Game, established in 2015 in memory of Roberts, a Norwich lacrosse player who passed away from a sudden heart attack after his sophomore year.  Norwich and Castleton have jointly hosted the Memorial Game, as his brother Ben played lacrosse and hockey with the Spartans.  Last season's game was a classic, as Norwich claimed a 9-8 double overtime thriller on Sabine Field.