NORTHFIELD, Vt. - The fifth-seeded Norwich University men's lacrosse team will open postseason play on Saturday, Apr. 25, traveling to fourth-seeded Emmanuel College (Mass.) for an 10:00 a.m. Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Quarterfinal matchup at Clemente Field in Boston, Mass.
Norwich enters the tournament at 8-7 overall and 7-4 in GNAC action after closing the regular season with a dominant 19-1 victory over Colby-Sawyer College on Monday. Emmanuel finished the regular season 8-8 overall and also posted a 7-4 conference mark, earning the higher seed through the league's tiebreaking procedures. The Saints claimed the regular season meeting between the two teams on Apr. 15, edging the Cadets, 9-8, in Boston.
The Cadets enter the postseason with one of the more productive offenses in the conference, averaging 13.20 goals per game while totaling 198 goals and 111 assists across 15 contests. Norwich has also held the edge in several possession-based categories this spring, including ground balls, clears, and caused turnovers, while averaging 42.9 shots per game.
Jake Marcotte (Old Orchard Beach, Maine) and
Drew Fleury (Nashua, N.H.) have paced the Norwich attack all season. Marcotte leads the team with 56 points on 32 goals and 24 assists, while Fleury sits just behind with 54 points on a team-best 37 goals and 17 assists.
Christian Rainis (Wynantskill, N.Y.) has added 31 points on 25 goals and six assists, while
Jackson Forbes (Merrimack, N.H.) has chipped in 28 points behind 20 goals and eight helpers.
Norwich has also received key contributions throughout the middle of the lineup.
Robbie McAllister (Amherst, Mass.) and
Nicholas Wolfgang (New Port Richey, Fla.) each carry 18 points into the tournament,
James Raymond (Tracy's Landing, Md.) has contributed seven goals and nine assists, while
Case MacDonald (Burke, Va.) has scored 12 goals and
David Gosselin (South Burlington, Vt.) has added eight assists. At the faceoff X,
Ryan Magararu (Newtonville, Mass.) has gone 134-for-271 this spring while scooping up a team-high 62 ground balls.
Defensively, Norwich has been anchored by
Mason Dils (Watervliet, N.Y.), who has started all 15 games in goal and carries a 7-7 record with 164 saves and a .521 save percentage.
Harrison Poquette (South Burlington, Vt.) and
Xavier Ixtlahuac (Carthage, N.Y.) have both posted 14 caused turnovers, while Fleury, Rainis, and Forbes each enter the postseason with double-digit caused turnover totals as well.
Emmanuel counters with a balanced offense that averages 12.06 goals per game and has produced 193 goals and 115 assists in 16 games. The Saints have been successful on extra-man chances, converting 19 of 66 opportunities, and have also played well defensively, allowing just 9.69 goals per contest.
Cole Cloney and Ethan Madura headline the Emmanuel offense, combining for 81 goals and 95 points. Cloney leads the Saints with 39 goals and 53 points, while Madura has added 35 goals and 42 points. Chase Greenlaw has contributed 33 points on 17 goals and 16 assists, and both Samuel Yan and Kellen Connor have added 28 points apiece.
Emmanuel has also been competitive in the faceoff game and in transition. The Saints own a .449 faceoff win percentage, have collected 506 ground balls, and have successfully cleared the ball at a 79.1 percent clip. Christopher Hamblett leads the team with 58 ground balls, while Dylan Wise and Myles Mitnick have both handled heavy faceoff workloads. In goal, Colby Enos has logged the bulk of the minutes and enters the tournament with 150 saves and a .508 save percentage.
In the meeting between both teams in mid-April, Emmanuel built an early lead before Norwich stormed back to tie the contest in the second quarter, and the Cadets nearly forced overtime with a furious late push in the final minutes before falling by a single goal. Norwich got hat tricks from Forbes and a three-point effort from Fleury in that contest, while Dils turned in 17 saves in one of his strongest performances of the season.
Saturday's winner will advance to the GNAC Semifinals on Wednesday, Apr. 29, to face top-seeded Rivier University or eighth-seeded Regis College.
