NORTHFIELD, Vt. - The Norwich University men's lacrosse team started strong but ultimately fell to New England College, 14-7, in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) North Division content on Wednesday afternoon at Sabine Field.

Jake Marcotte (Old Orchard Beach, Maine) led the offensive effort for the Cadets, finishing with a team-high five points on three goals and two assists.  Case MacDonald (Burke, Va.), James Raymond (Tracy's Landing, Md.), Christian Rainis (Wynantskill, N.Y.), and Drew Fleury (Nashua, N.H.) each found the back of the net once, with MacDonald, Raymond, and Rainis also chipping in an assist apiece.

The game began as a back-and-forth battle, with New England College striking first at the 11:30 mark of the first quarter.  Norwich responded just under nine minutes later when MacDonald capitalized on a feed from Marcotte to even the score at 1-1.

The Pilgrims regained the lead before the quarter expired, but Norwich came out strong in the second frame.  Rainis got the offense rolling with an unassisted goal at 13:12 to tie the game again.  The Cadets then surged ahead with back-to-back goals from Marcotte and Raymond, taking a 4-2 lead with just over three minutes left in the half.

However, New England College responded with a momentum-shifting run, scoring three times in the final 76 seconds of the second stanza to reclaim a 5-4 advantage heading into halftime.

Norwich wasted no time answering in the third quarter, as Marcotte netted his second goal of the game just over a minute in, tying the game once more at 5-5.

From there, the Pilgrims took control, rattling off five straight goals to build a 10-5 lead.  Marcotte completed his hat trick with a goal at the 1:46 mark of the third, assisted by MacDonald, but New England College tacked on another tally before the period ended to push the lead back to five.

In the fourth quarter, the Pilgrims continued to build on their edge, adding two more goals before Fleury broke through with an unassisted strike at 8:15.  New England College responded less than a minute later with the game's final goal to secure the win.

Defensively, Rainis, Fleury, and Gavin Youngclaus (Middleboro, Mass.) each caused three turnovers, with Rainis also leading the team in ground balls with five.  Norwich found success in transition, completing 19 clear attempts while holding the Pilgrims to 16 successful clears.

In goal, Mason Dils (Watervliet, N.Y.) recorded 12 saves in just over 51 minutes of action, while Thomas Hopkins (Chelmsford, Mass.) made two saves in the final nine minutes of play.

Norwich will now look to bounce back on the road, traveling to Regis College for another GNAC North Division showdown on Saturday, Apr. 5, at 3:00 p.m.  The Cadets will then return home to Sabine Field on Saturday, Apr. 12, for a 2:00 p.m. conference match-up against Dean College.