NORTHFIELD, Vt. - The Norwich University women's lacrosse ripped off the first six goals of the game and never looked back, coasting past New England College, 15-9, in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) battle on Sabine Field on Tuesday night.

Leocadia Clark (Stowe, Vt.) continued her illustrious senior season, tallying a hat trick to pace the Cadet offense.  Sophie Zemianek (St. Albans, Vt.), Caitlyn Fielder (East Calais, Vt.), Athena Merck (West Yarmouth, Mass.), and Julia Proto (Orange, Conn.) amassed multiple goals with two apiece, while Quinn Mustone (Medford, Mass.), Tori Jarvis (South Windsor, Conn.), Ellie Moriarty (Stowe, Vt.), and Neris Archambault (Pepperell, Mass.) tallied one goal each.

Clark impressively recorded her hat trick in the opening 10 minutes, scoring three of the first four goals with a man-up opportunity from Proto sandwiched in between the first and second of Clark's scores.  Merck added the fifth-straight seconds after Clark's third, before Fielder found Zemianek for the latter's first goal of the season with one second remaining in the contest.

The Pilgrims found momentum in the second period, logging three straight scores to trim Norwich's lead in half, but the hosts responded with three of their own.  Archambault made connections on the first two, finding Merck and Moriarty for two answers before Merck earned an assist on Moriarty's score to close the frame.

Fielder added another score to push the Cadets past the double-digit plateau, affording Norwich some breathing room as the Pilgrims scored three of the next four goals.  Mustone was the lone Cadet tally in that span on an extra-man, before Jarvis found the back of the net just before the buzzer sounded to double-up the Pilgrims, 12-6, at the final break.

Norwich rattled off another three-goal stretch after the Pilgrims struck first in the fourth, capitalizing on a pair of extra-man chances courtesy of Zemianek and Proto before Archambault closed Norwich's electrifying offensive on the 15th goal with 3:49 remaining.  New England College rallied for two more but the Cadet defense prevented the Pilgrims from getting any closer.

Merck led all players in points with six, dishing out for helpers while Clark and Proto tallied four points apiece.  The Cadets thrived in generating offensive opportunities, taking a blistering 50 shots to just 27 for the Pilgrims.

The rampant Cadet defense forced 22 Pilgrim turnovers, led by stifling play from Addison Reil (East Barre, Vt.) and Lindsey Parker (Wells, Maine) behind six and three caused turnovers, respectively.

Clark and Mustone, meanwhile, led Norwich in draw controls with six and five, respectively, as the Cadets claimed 17 draws and holding New England College to nine.

Carlie Henning (Dawsonville, Ga.) continued her undefeated senior season, earning her third victory of the year on seven saves in a full game in the crease.

Norwich continues its three-game homestand on Saturday, Apr. 13, hosting Albertus Magnus College in a 4:00 p.m. bout.  Saturday's contest marks Senior Day for the Cadets, as Norwich will honor nine seniors prior to gametime, with Celine Juneau (Chazy, N.Y.), Julia Gutke (Stockholm, Sweden), Leocadia Clark, Addison Reil, Anamika Usman (Milford, N.H.), Neris Archambault, Eleonore Burns (Redding Center, Conn.), Carlie Henning, and Maeve Noble-Lowe (Freedom, Maine) all being recognized.