NORTHFIELD, Vt. – The New England College men's lacrosse team would secure their second Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) victory on the season against the Norwich University Cadets on Tuesday at Sabine Field in Northfield, Vermont.
THE BASICS
Score: New England College 14, Norwich University 7
Records: Pilgrims 5-5, 2-2 GNAC | Cadets 3-7, 1-3 GNAC
HOW IT HAPPENED
- NEC got off to a good start in the early going of the GNAC matchup with junior midfielder Daniel Varga (Hampton, N.J.) getting the 'Grims going thanks to senior attacker Thomas Norton (Mansfield, Mass.) who was able to locate Varga that would position him in the perfect position to score. The Cadets wouldn't be able to strike back until 2:46 remained in the quarter to even things up but not until the 'Grims managed to have the last laugh by the conclusion of the first quarter. A costly Cadet's turnover would occur that would not only result in a completed clear but most importantly an NEC goal which came from senior attacker Henri Pfeifle (Darien, Conn.) off of a feed from Varga to put the 'Grims up by one, 2-1.
- The second quarter started off quite slow for NEC, which proved to be costly as NU was firing on all cylinders for the majority of the quarter, going on a 3-0 run. Things looked like they were favoring the Cadets for the time being with 3:05 remaining in the quarter but the 'Grims did not waver in the face of adversity in the closely contested conference clash as they managed to take the lead before the conclusion of the quarter. It started with the Cadets failing to complete a clear as Pfeifle's pressure on the goalkeeper resulted in a turnover and allowed him to score an empty net goal. Shortly after NEC's faceoff win, Varga would have the ball in his stick and located junior long-stick midfielder Jackson Kain (Plattsburgh, N.Y.) for a goal to knot the game up at an even standstill at 0:59. Another turnover by NU would bestow the 'Grims a scoring opportunity that Varga would take advantage of as he was the recipient credited with an assist as he found senior attacker Matt Daley (Plymouth, Mass.) open to put NEC out in front going into halftime, 5-4.
- NU would get things started on their end scoring the first goal of the third quarter but that proved to have little effect on the 'Grims and how they would respond to that. NEC found their grove and took control of the quarter the vast majority of it executing a 5-0 run to establish a five-goal lead over the Cadets with 6:12 remaining, 10-5. The Cadets would manage to find the back of the net before the conclusion of the quarter, but NEC would still have control as they tacked on another goal by Varga, 11-6.
- The fourth quarter would be in favor of the 'Grims picking up where they left off in the previous quarter scoring the first two goals. NU found a way to score at 8:15 but the 'Grims would not allow another blemish to occur as they shut down any scoring opportunities for the Cadets for the remainder of the quarter to solidify their second GNAC win of the season over NU, 14-7.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
- NEC sophomore goalkeeper Nate Finn (Norwood, Mass.) collected six saves in between the pipes.
- The time in net would be split between NU sophomore goalkeeper Mason Dils (Watervliet, N.Y.) who had 12 stops while NU senior goalkeeper Thomas Hopkins (Chelmsford, Mass.) ended with two saves.
- Shots would be in favor of the 'Grims, 43-30.
- NEC Varga, who was announced today as the Pilgrim of the Month for March left no doubt on the field as he was the clear-cut star of the game as the junior transfer erupted in the game concluding with him recording the game-high in points gathering 11 from seven goals and four assists.
- NU freshman attacker Jake Marcotte (Old Orchard Beach, Maine) did all he could for the Cadets, gathering five points off of three goals and two assists.
- NEC would out groundball the Cadets on the day, 45-38.
- The 'Grims were dominate on face offs sitting firmly in the driver seat within this aspect of the game, 21-4.
UP NEXT
- NEC is back on the field on Saturday, April 5th at 4:00 PM for another conference game against Albertus Magnus College for the teams Senior Day from Don Melander Field.
- NU travels out to Weston, Massachusetts to play against Regis College on Saturday, April 5th at 3:00 PM for their next game.
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