STANDISH, Maine - The Norwich University men's lacrosse team fell just short in a thrilling divisional battle on Tuesday evening, dropping a heartbreaker to Saint Joseph's College of Maine, 7-6, in a pivotal Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) North Division contest.
Despite a red-hot start and a last-minute equalizer from Jake Marcotte (Old Orchard Beach, Maine), the Cadets saw their comeback hopes dashed when the Monks found the back of the net with just 16 seconds remaining to steal the win.
Marcotte led all scorers with three goals and added an assist, continuing his strong offensive form. Case MacDonald (Burke, Va.) netted a pair of goals, and James Raymond (Tracy's Landing, Md.) tallied one, while Nathan Woinicki (New Windsor, N.Y.) and Christian Rainis (Wynantskill, N.Y.) also contributed with assists.
Norwich came out firing, dominating possession early and surging to a 3-0 lead in the first quarter. MacDonald struck first less than three minutes in, followed by a pair of goals from Marcotte, with one assisted by Woinicki and the other by Rainis, to give the Cadets early momentum.
The Monks, however, answered with six consecutive goals spanning the second and third quarters, flipping the game on its head. Norwich's defense, led by Clayton Cisar (Aberdeen, Md.), held strong during long stretches, but Saint Joseph's capitalized on just enough chances to take a 6-3 lead into the final quarter.
Refusing to go quietly, the Cadets responded with a gritty fourth-quarter effort. MacDonald sparked the comeback with his second of the game just over two minutes into the period. Raymond followed with a finish off a Marcotte assist to close the gap to one. With under a minute to play, Marcotte delivered a clutch unassisted goal to tie the game at 6-6, seemingly forcing overtime. But on the ensuing possession, Saint Joseph's found the winner through Will Levesque, who buried the go-ahead goal with just 16 seconds remaining off a feed from Tiger Hopkins.
Between the pipes, Mason Dils (Watervliet, N.Y.) turned in one of his best performances of the season, standing tall for the full 60 minutes and racking up a season-high 18 saves. Dils was a steady presence all night, turning away point-blank chances and anchoring a defensive unit that consistently disrupted the Monks' rhythm.
Cisar anchored the defensive effort with three caused turnovers and shared team-high honors in ground balls with Marcotte, as each tallied four.
Norwich will look to rebound in its final homestand of the regular season, hosting the University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) for Senior Day on Saturday, Apr. 19, at 1:00 p.m. on Sabine Field. The Cadets will then wrap up GNAC play at home on Wednesday, Apr. 23, against Rivier University at 4:00 p.m.
