NORTHFIELD, Vt. – Saint Joseph's College (4-5, 3-1 GNAC) suffered a 12-10 setback to Norwich University (3-4, 2-2 GNAC) in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) men's lacrosse action on Saturday afternoon.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

Saint Joseph's opened the scoring early and built a 3-1 lead in the first quarter behind goals from sophomore Noah Schaeffer (Gray, Maine), sophomore Caleb Reardon (Belchertown, Mass.), and junior Nicolas Michaud (Wales, Maine). Norwich answered with a goal from Drew Fleury late in the frame.

The Monks maintained the advantage in the second quarter and carried a 6-4 lead into halftime. Junior Joseph Kiedaisch (Westminster, Mass.) and sophomore Maxwell Plunske (South Windsor, Conn.) scored early to help Saint Joseph's open a 5-1 cushion, and senior David Cook (Upton, Mass.) added a late tally to keep the visitors in front. Norwich stayed within striking distance with goals from Christian Rainis, Fleury, and Jake Marcotte.

Saint Joseph's continued to control the game in the third quarter, outscoring Norwich 4-2 to take a 10-6 lead into the final period. Fleury opened the scoring in the stanza with his third goal of the day, but the Monks responded with four of the next five goals. Schaeffer and Cook each netted their second of the contest, while freshman Aidan Byrne (West Newbury, Mass.) and Plunske also scored to help Saint Joseph's build a 10-5 advantage. Rainis added a late goal for the Cadets to make it a four-goal game entering the fourth.

In the final quarter, Norwich mounted a comeback by scoring six unanswered goals to erase the deficit and secure the 12-10 victory. Goals from Rainis, Fleury, and Marcotte trimmed the margin to 10-9 before Fleury scored back-to-back goals to put the Cadets in front. Marcotte then added an insurance tally to complete the rally.

STATS OF THE GAME:

With most team totals nearly even, turnovers proved to be the difference, as Saint Joseph's committed 22 miscues to Norwich's 13 and the Cadets owned a 15-4 advantage in caused turnovers.

THE KEEPERS:

Junior Reed Wescott (Windham, Maine) made eight saves with three ground balls in the loss for Saint Joseph's.

Norwich goalkeeper Mason Dils recorded six saves in the win.

LEADERS – SAINT JOSEPH'S:

• Maxwell Plunske: 2 goals, 1 assist
• Nicolas Michaud: 1 goal, 2 assists
• Noah Schaeffer: 2 goals
• David Cook: 2 goals
• Joseph Kiedaisch: 1 goal, 1 assist
• Aidan Byrne: 1 goal, 1 assist
• Cody Southwick (So., Saco, Maine): 7 ground balls, 16-of-26 faceoffs
• Alec Henry (So., Hampstead, N.H.): 3 ground balls, 2 caused turnovers
• Jacob Magri (So., North Hampton, N.H.): 3 ground balls

LEADERS – NORWICH:

• Drew Fleury: 6 goals, 2 assists, 4 ground balls, 2 caused turnovers
• Jake Marcotte: 3 goals, 2 assists, 3 ground balls
• Christian Rainis: 3 goals, 1 assist
• Jackson Forbes: 4 ground balls, 3 caused turnovers
• Ryder Spiers: 3 ground balls, 3 caused turnovers
• David Myers: 3 ground balls, 2 caused turnovers

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:

With the loss, Saint Joseph's falls to 2-16 in the history of the series with Norwich University.

NEXT:

The Monks return to action on Wednesday when they host Colby-Sawyer College in a 6:00 PM GNAC contest at the SJC Athletics Complex.