BOSTON, Mass. - After opening the 2026 campaign with a historic unbeaten run, the Norwich University women's lacrosse team saw its perfect start come to an end on Saturday afternoon, falling to reigning Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) champion Emmanuel College, 18-7, at Clemente Field.

Five Cadets recorded goals in the conference clash, led by a hat trick from Caitlyn Fielder (East Calais, Vt.), who continued her strong senior campaign.  Vivian Buntin (Middlebury, Conn.) paced Norwich in overall production with a four-point effort, scoring once while distributing three assists.  Tori Jarvis (South Windsor, Conn.), Colby Magoon (Loudon, N.H.), and Lauren Labbe (Brunswick, Maine) each added a goal to round out the scoring.

"Sometimes you're the hammer, and sometimes you're the nail," said Head Coach Ian Thomas.  "Emmanuel played a great game and made us pay for our mistakes."

Norwich struck first, as Fielder netted an unassisted tally three-and-a-half minutes into the contest to provide the Cadets with their only lead of the afternoon.  Emmanuel responded with consecutive goals to seize momentum, but Fielder again answered late in the opening stanza, converting another unassisted effort to knot the score at 2-2.  The Saints reclaimed the advantage in the final minute of the quarter, carrying a 3-2 edge into the second frame.

Emmanuel began to create separation early in the second period, rattling off three straight goals within the opening seven minutes.  Fielder halted the surge with her third goal of the game, finishing off a feed from Buntin to keep Norwich within reach.  After the Saints extended their lead with two more tallies, the Cadets responded with a brief push.  Buntin found Jarvis for a finish late in the half, and Magoon capitalized on a woman-up opportunity just 30 seconds into the third quarter to trim the deficit to 8-5.

"This was our fourth game in seven days and it showed. We looked slow at times and our timing on offense was off most of the game," Thomas said.  "We had good sets on both sides of the ball, but played too inconsistent to beat a team as skilled as Emmanuel."

The Saints offense answered decisively, however, stringing together a 10-goal run that spanned the remainder of the third quarter and continued into the opening stages of the fourth.  Labbe finally broke the stretch with 3:38 remaining, finishing off another Buntin assist.  Buntin added a late goal of her own in the closing minutes to account for the final margin.

"This is a good loss early in the season," Thomas said.  "We were exposed in areas that we need to improve on.  We are still very young and now have some great film to teach and learn from.  There is a lot of lacrosse left in the season and we are excited to get back to work and continue to improve!"

Norwich held a slight edge in the draw circle, securing 14 victories compared to 13 for Emmanuel.  Fielder led all players with a game-high 10 draw controls. Magoon paced the Cadets on the ground with four ground balls, while Labbe added three.

Defensively, Norwich forced seven turnovers, highlighted by three caused turnovers from Magoon.

In goal, Bailey Ingala (West Hartford, Conn.) recorded 10 saves while playing the full 60 minutes between the pipes.

Norwich will remain on the road for its next conference matchup, traveling to Elms College on Tuesday, Mar. 17, for a 5:00 p.m. contest in Chicopee, Mass.  The Cadets will then return to Sabine Field on Friday, Mar. 20, for a 4:00 p.m. GNAC battle against the University of Saint Joseph (Conn.).