NEW LONDON, Conn. - The Norwich University women's lacrosse team closed the regular season in dominant fashion on Wednesday afternoon, racing past Mitchell College, 21-2, in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) matchup at Alumni Field.
The Cadets controlled the contest from the outset, building a nine-goal first quarter and carrying a 16-0 advantage into halftime en route to one of their most complete performances of the season.
Caitlin Slider (Thetford Center, Vt.) and
Sophia Albright (East Dummerston, Vt.) each finished with six points to lead the Norwich offense. Slider totaled two goals and four assists, while Albright produced four goals and two helpers.
Vivian Buntin (Middlebury, Conn.) followed with five points on four goals and an assist, and
Caitlyn Fielder (East Calais, Vt.) added five points of her own behind two goals and three assists.
Athena Merck (West Yarmouth, Mass.) contributed four points on three goals and an assist, while
Sienna Caron (Griswold, Conn.) scored twice.
Breanna Ricker (Laconia, N.H.) chipped in a goal and an assist, and
Izzy Sirois (Hartland, Vt.),
Colby Magoon (Loudon, N.H.), and
Tori Jarvis (South Windsor, Conn.) each found the back of the net once.
Norwich wasted little time asserting itself. Buntin opened the scoring less than two minutes into the contest off a Slider assist, and Merck followed with back-to-back unassisted goals to ignite the early surge. Ricker and Buntin added tallies in the middle stages of the quarter before the Cadets poured on four more in the closing minutes.
Albright scored twice in a 29-second span, first off a Slider feed and then from a Fielder assist, before finishing her first-quarter hat trick with 53 seconds left off a Merck helper. Slider then capped the opening-frame outburst with a goal in the final nine seconds, pushing Norwich to a commanding 9-0 lead after 15 minutes.
The Cadets carried that momentum seamlessly into the second quarter. Fielder opened the frame off with a goal, and Caron followed with an unassisted tally. Fielder struck again midway through the quarter off a Ricker helper, before Buntin and Albright each added goals to continue stretching the margin.
Buntin completed her fourth goal of the day off another Slider assist with 2:14 remaining in the half, and Caron closed the first-half scoring with an unassisted goal in the final 33 seconds as Norwich took a 16-0 lead into the break.
Norwich remained firmly in control after halftime. Merck netted her third goal of the afternoon early in the third quarter, Magoon finished a Buntin assist, and Jarvis added an unassisted score to extend the advantage to 19-0 entering the final period.
Sirois joined the scoring in the fourth quarter off an Albright assist for her first point of the day, before Mitchell broke through for its first goal with 8:49 remaining. Slider answered with her second goal of the afternoon at the 1:34 mark to restore Norwich's 20-goal cushion, and the Mariners added one final tally in the closing seconds to round out the scoring.
Norwich held decisive advantages throughout the afternoon, including a 39-11 edge in shots and a 27-4 margin in shots on goal. The Cadets were also flawless in transition, finishing a perfect 7-for-7 on clears while limiting Mitchell to 5-for-14.
On the ground, Norwich claimed a 17-10 advantage in ground balls, led by six from Ricker. Fielder and Slider added three apiece, while the Cadets also controlled the draw circle by an 18-5 margin. Fielder paced that effort with seven draw controls, Ricker collected three, and both Buntin and Albright secured two.
Defensively, Norwich forced 13 caused turnovers, with Ricker leading the way with three.
Kaylin Gonzalez (Navarre, Fla.) earned the second victory of her collegiate career in goal, turning aside three shots over a full 60 minutes in the crease.
With the win, Norwich closes the regular season at 13-3 overall and 10-3 in GNAC play, while posting a 6-1 record at home and a 7-2 mark away from Sabine Field. The Cadets will now turn their attention to the GNAC Tournament, where they have secured a home Quarterfinal contest on Saturday, Apr. 25, set for a 2:00 p.m. start on Sabine Field at Haynes Family Stadium. Norwich's opponent will be determined following the conclusion of the final regular season contests later tonight.
