BRIGHTON, Mass. - The #5N Norwich University women's lacrosse team held down a late Simmons University rally, chomping the #4N Sharks, 10-8, in Thursday afternoon's Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Play-In Game on Daly Field, securing the Cadets their first postseason win since 2014 and granting Norwich a berth into the GNAC Tournament Quarterfinals.

With the victory, the Cadets advance to Saturday's scheduled GNAC Quarterfinals, where Norwich will travel to Providence, R.I., to take on the #1S-seeded JWU (Providence) Wildcats.

Norwich's methodical offense was paced by a four-goal performance from Sophie Zemianek (St. Albans, Vt.), who recorded a hat trick just 23 minutes into the contest.  Caitlyn Fielder (East Calais, Vt.) also logged multiple goals with two, while Quinn Mustone (Medford, Mass.), Leocadia Clark (Stowe, Vt.), Athena Merck (West Yarmouth, Mass.), and Ellie Moriarty (Stowe, Vt.) all contributed scores with a goal apiece.

The Sharks struck first and fast, building a quick 2-0 lead less than five minutes into the contest before a scoreless stretch spanning the ensuing six minutes.  Zemianek broke the stalemate, ripping in her first before answering a subsequent Simmons goal to bring Norwich to within one, 3-2, at the end of the first stanza.

Three-straight Cadet goals throughout the second from Moriarty, Zemianek, and Mustone gave Norwich a lead that would never be relinquished, despite Simmons scoring in the waning minutes of the half.

Norwich again embarked on another four-goal run, with Fielder finding herself responsible for three of the four goals, first finding Merck for the initial tally before rattling off back-to-back scores.  Clark closed the affair with a goal that granted the Cadets their largest lead of the game at 9-4.

Although it appeared as if Norwich would cruise to victory, the Sharks viciously rallied, sniping in four-straight goals to bring the Cadet lead back down to one, 9-8, with 6:38 left in the contest.  Simmons could not find the equalizer, however, as Zemianek closed her masterful evening with a man-up insurance goal that secured the victory for the Cadets.

Both teams were nearly even in every category, matching each other in shots (26-26) and shots on goal (22-22), with the Cadets holding small edges in ground balls (20-18) and draw controls (12-9).

Clark and Fielder were the catalysts for Norwich's success on draws, claiming five and four, respectively, while Fielder led all players in ground balls with five.

Carlie Henning (Dawsonville, Ga.) put in a full 60 minutes of work between the pipes, earning the win after turning away 14 shots.

Three Cadets divvied out four helpers, with Fielder rounding out her impressive afternoon with a pair of assists, while Clark and Moriarty were also responsible for crucial goals.

Norwich's GNAC Tournament win marks the first for the program since the Cadets topped Simmons in the GNAC Quarterfinals on Apr. 22, 2014, when Norwich earned a similarly-fashioned two-point victory, 11-9, over the Sharks.  Thursday's win also marks the first over the Sharks since that 11-9 victory 10 years ago.

The Cadets will now turn their attention to JWU (Providence), as the two teams meet for the first time this season on Saturday, Apr. 27, for a 7:00 p.m. GNAC Quarterfinal clash.  The winner of Saturday's match-up will meet the winner of #2N Saint Joseph's College of Maine and #3S Regis College in the GNAC Semifinals on Tuesday, Apr. 30.