BOSTON, Mass. - The third-seeded Norwich University women's lacrosse team saw its postseason run come to a close on Tuesday evening, falling to second-seeded Emmanuel College (Mass.), 13-5, in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Semifinals at Clemente Field.
With the result, Norwich closes the 2026 campaign at 14-4 overall and 10-3 in GNAC play, while finishing 7-1 at home and 7-3 in road contests. The Cadets' 14 victories tied for the second-most in a single season in program history, matching the 2012 squad and finishing one shy of the 2025 team's program-record total. Norwich also matched the program standard for conference wins with 10, equaling the marks set in both 2022 and 2025.
Sophia Albright (East Dummerston, Vt.) led the Norwich offense with three points on a goal and two assists.
Vivian Buntin (Middlebury, Conn.) scored twice, while
Athena Merck (West Yarmouth, Mass.) and
Tori Jarvis (South Windsor, Conn.) each added a goal.
Caitlyn Fielder (East Calais, Vt.) chipped in an assist.
Norwich struck first and looked sharp early, as Merck opened the scoring with an unassisted tally at the 11:04 mark of the first quarter to hand the Cadets a 1-0 lead.
Emmanuel answered midway through the opening frame and then added another late in the quarter to edge in front, 2-1, heading into the second.
The Saints began to build separation in the second period, scoring twice in the opening five minutes to stretch the lead to 4-1. Norwich responded with one of its better offensive sequences of the half when Albright converted off a Fielder assist with 9:29 left in the quarter, trimming the deficit back to two.
That proved to be the Cadets' final goal of the half, however, as Emmanuel scored three times over the closing minutes of the second quarter to carry a 7-2 advantage into the break.
"We shot ourselves in the foot tonight," said Head Coach
Ian Thomas '14. "We had too many turnovers and too many cards to beat a team as skilled as Emmanuel. The officials really made their presence known and we didn't adjust well. Bailey kept us in the game, but we played too much defense and struggled to get into a flow on offense."
The Saints added another goal early in the third before Norwich answered. Buntin finished off an Albright helper at the 10:08 mark to bring the Cadets back within 8-3, but Emmanuel responded again with a woman-up tally later in the frame to take a 9-3 lead into the fourth quarter.
Norwich continued to compete in the final 15 minutes. Jarvis opened the fourth-quarter scoring just 54 seconds in with an unassisted goal, cutting the margin to 9-4. Emmanuel then took advantage of a key stretch with four unanswered goals, including three on free-position opportunities, to put the contest out of reach.
Buntin added one final woman-up goal for Norwich with 4:27 remaining off Albright's second assist of the evening, accounting for the 13-5 final.
Even with the Saints controlling the scoreboard, the Cadets remained active in several key areas. Norwich held a 21-20 edge in ground balls and a 12-7 advantage in draw controls.
Emma DeGuise (South Burlington, Vt.) led the team with four ground balls, while Fielder and
Colby Magoon (Loudon, N.H.) added three apiece in a balanced defensive effort that saw 11 different Cadets record at least one ground ball. Norwich also forced 11 caused turnovers as a team, with
Kaitlyn Eisentraut (Middletown, N.Y.) producing four and Buntin adding two.
Fielder once again played a major role in the draw circle, winning a game-high nine draw controls, while
Breanna Ricker (Laconia, N.H.) added two.
In goal,
Bailey Ingala (West Hartford, Conn.) made 10 saves across a full 60 minutes of action while also collecting two ground balls. The senior closes her career with a 22-8 record in net, ranking second in program history in goalkeeper victories behind only Kellie Pickel '11, who posted 26 wins from 2008 to 2011.
"Today was a tough loss, but there is so much to be proud of from this season," Thomas said. "After graduating 10 seniors, we were set for a rebuilding year and this team exceeded all expectations. This is because of our senior leadership. All four of our seniors stepped up this year and led by example, day-in and day-out. The resiliency of this group is second to none, five one-goal wins, many comeback victories, and more memories than we know what to do with. This was a season to remember, and we still left room for growth in the future."
Tuesday's contest also marked the final collegiate game for Ingala, Merck, and
Abigail Kirrane (Lunenburg, Mass.), capping a senior class that helped guide Norwich to another standout spring and one of the strongest seasons in program history.
"This group of girls have become so close throughout the year and are so much fun to be around," Thomas said. "We have grown exponentially together on and off the field. It makes me proud to see their passion and love for the sport and each other. We will be back stronger next year and are hungry to continue to push the standard of our program and bring that elusive GNAC Championship back to Vermont!"
Emmanuel advances to face top-seeded Saint Joseph's College of Maine in the GNAC Championship on Saturday after the Monks edged fifth-seeded Colby-Sawyer College, 7-6, in the other semifinal matchup.
