NORTHFIELD, Vt. - The Norwich University women's lacrosse team delivered a dominant performance in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Tournament Quarterfinals, dispatching Dean College with an 18-6 victory on Sabine Field at Haynes Family Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

The Cadets, seeded second in the GNAC North Division, wasted no time setting the tone and never looked back, advancing to the GNAC Semifinals for the first time since 2014.

Nine different Cadets found the back of the net, led by Julia Gutke (Stockholm, Sweden) with a four-goal outburst.  Sophie Zemianek (St. Albans, Vt.) and Breanna Ricker (Laconia, N.H.) each recorded hat tricks, while Athena Merck (West Yarmouth, Mass.) and Vivian Buntin (Middlebury, Conn.) contributed two goals apiece.  Quinn Mustone (Medford, Mass.), Ellie Moriarty (Stowe, Vt.), Julia Proto (Orange, Conn.), and Colby Magoon (Loudon, N.H.) rounded out the Cadets' offensive explosion with one goal each.

Merck and Moriarty tallied three assists apiece, with Ricker and Caitlin Slider (Thetford Center, Vt.) each adding two.  Buntin chipped in one helper as well, as Ricker and Merck paced the team with five-point outings.

Norwich took little time asserting control, as Gutke opened the scoring by finishing a feed from Moriarty.  Buntin followed shortly after, burying another assist from Moriarty to give the Cadets an early two-goal advantage.  Dean answered with back-to-back goals to tie the game late in the first quarter, but Norwich quickly regained the momentum.  As the final seconds of the opening frame ticked away, Zemianek powered through the Bulldog defense to score and push Norwich back in front, a lead the Cadets would never relinquish.

Ricker ignited the second quarter with a goal off a feed from Merck, stretching the lead back to two.  After a Bulldog goal, Moriarty finished a pass from Buntin, and Gutke tacked on her second goal off a Slider setup to continue the Cadets' surge.  Dean momentarily slowed the attack with a man-up goal, but Norwich stormed into halftime with another dominant stretch.  Zemianek rattled off two straight goals before Ricker capped the half with an unassisted tally, sending Norwich into the break with a commanding 9-4 lead.

The Cadets continued to pour it on after halftime, as Buntin connected early in the third quarter after another sharp assist from Moriarty.  Gutke completed her hat trick moments later off a feed from Ricker, pushing the margin to seven.  Though Dean briefly interrupted the run, Norwich resumed its relentless pace, courtesy of goals from Ricker and Mustone before Merck added back-to-back scores.

The fourth quarter was all Norwich after Dean tallied their final goal of the afternoon, as Gutke buried her fourth goal off a slick assist from Merck.  Proto then cashed in on another Merck helper, and Magoon capped the scoring with an unassisted effort, sealing the 18-6 rout.

Norwich's defense was smothering throughout, forcing 20 caused turnovers and holding Dean to just 12 shots on goal.  Sarah Moshrefi (Leesburg, Va.) anchored the defensive effort with five caused turnovers, while Ricker and Celine Juneau (Chazy, N.Y.) each added three.  Ricker also dominated the draw circle, securing five draw controls, while Mustone added three to help the Cadets maintain possession and control the pace.

Ground balls were another area of strength for the Cadets, with Ricker scooping up four and Moriarty adding three.  Overall, Norwich won the ground ball battle by a 22-14 margin and was nearly perfect on clears, successfully converting 22-of-24 attempts while limiting Dean to a 13-of-26 clip.

Bailey Manning-Ingala (West Hartford, Conn.) provided another steady performance in goal, making nine saves in over 48 minutes to improve her record to 11-2 on the season.  Carlie Henning (Dawsonville, Ga.) came on in relief and added two more saves to help close out the win.

The Cadets outshot Dean by a wide margin, 40-24, including a 29-12 edge in shots on goal.  Norwich closed the contest with a 7-1 run over the final 22 minutes to cruise into the semifinal round and secure another GNAC postseason victory.

With the win, Norwich improved to 15-2 overall, setting a new program record for most wins in a season, surpassing the 2012 team's 14-2 mark.  It also marks the second consecutive season that Cadets have won a GNAC Tournament game, following a 2024 Play-In triumph over Simmons University.

Norwich now advances to the GNAC Semifinals, traveling to Providence, R.I., to face South Division No. 1 seed JWU (Providence) on Wednesday, Apr. 30.  Gametime is to be determined.  The matchup will be a rematch of last year's GNAC Quarterfinals, where JWU defeated Norwich, 14-4.