PAXTON, Mass. - The Norwich University men's lacrosse team erupted for 17 unanswered goals on Saturday afternoon, powering past Anna Maria College with a 19-2 victory to secure their first Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) win of the season.

Christian Rainis (Wynantskill, N.Y.) fueled the Cadets' offensively onslaught with a six-point performance, tallying three goals and three assists.  Drew Fleury (Nashua, N.H.) also recorded a hat trick, while Chris Smith (Dawsonville, Ga.) added a pair of goals.

Twelve other Cadets found the back of the net in a balanced offensive effort, with AJ Moniz, V (Middletown, R.I.), Ryan McGorry (Hingham, Mass.), Liam O'Neill (Hingham, Mass.), David Gosselin (South Burlington, Vt.), Robert Carr (Amsterdam, N.Y.), Case MacDonald (Burke, Va.), Noah St. Germaine (Plymouth, Mass.), James Raymond (Tracy's Landing, Md.), Alex Johnston (Franklin, Tenn.), Zachary Cooney (Victor, N.Y.), and Jake Marcotte (Old Orchard Beach, Maine) all registering goals.

Norwich wasted little time getting on the board, as Rainis struck first just over two minutes into play off a feed from Wes Emerson (Cheshire, Mass.).  Anna Maria responded quickly with an unassisted goal from Nathan Powers before Smith put the Cadets back in front at the 11:09 mark.  The AMCATS capitalized on a man-up opportunity to tie the game at 2-2 with 8:08 remaining in the first quarter, but that would be their final goal of the day.

Marcotte found the back of the net off a Raymond assist to spark Norwich's 17-goal avalanche.  O'Neill tacked on another late in the quarter, sending the Cadets into the second period with a 4-2 lead.

From there, Norwich took complete control.  Fleury extended the lead early in the second frame before Rainis added back-to-back goals, the second set up by Marcotte.  Johnston, Raymond, and Carr all chipped in before halftime, as Rainis assisted on two more scores to send Norwich into the break with a commanding 10-2 advantage.

The Cadets continued to pile on in the second half.  MacDonald, St. Germaine, and Moniz, V opened the third-stanza scoring, while Marcotte earned his fourth assist of the day by setting up Gosselin's man-up goal.  Fleury struck again in the closing seconds of the third, pushing the lead to 15-2 entering the final frame.

Norwich did not let up in the fourth quarter.  Rainis dished out his third assist of the afternoon on Fleury's third goal, while Smith added a man-up tally to keep the offense rolling.  Cooney and McGorry each tacked on late unassisted goals to cap off the scoring barrage.

The Cadet defense held firm, with five different players recording caused turnovers and Fleury scooping up four ground balls.  Goalkeeper Mason Dils (Watervliet, N.Y.) anchored the effort in the first half, making three saves while allowing just two goals.  Thomas Hopkins (Chelmsford, Mass.) stepped in for the second half, shutting out the AMCATS with one save.

Norwich overwhelmed Anna Maria statistically, outshooting the hosts 39-13 while finishing nearly flawlessly on clears, converting 13-of-14 attempts.  The Cadets capitalized on man-up opportunities by scoring twice in three tries.

With their first GNAC win secured, the Cadets will look to build on their momentum as they travel to face JWU (Providence) on Wednesday, Mar. 26, in a 4:00 p.m. contest.  Norwich then returns home to close March, hosting Emmanuel College on Mar. 29.