MEN’S LAX RALLY FALLS SHORT AS CADETS EDGE SAINTS, 7-6

NEWTON, Mass. – The Emmanuel Men's Lacrosse Team suffered its second-straight one goal loss with a 7-6 defeat at the hands of Norwich University. Norwich fought off a late charge by the Saints to post the narrow win in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) action. The GNAC contest was played on the turf at nearby Lasell College on Sunday afternoon. With the win, the Cadets improve to 2-3 overall and remain unbeaten in GNAC play at 2-0. The loss drops the Saints to 2-5 on the season and 0-2 in the GNAC.

Trailing 7-3 with less than five minutes left to play, Emmanuel posed a comeback by scoring three goals in a span of 2:02, beginning with a goal by Ryan Sabuda (Indianapolis, Ind.) at the 3:01 mark. The Saints followed this up with goals from Chris Curtis (Ashland, Mass.) and Evan Dolber (Malden, Mass.) at the 1:26 and 0:59, respectively.

The Saints had an opportunity to tie the score and force overtime with the final possession of the contest, but their first shot attempt went wide. A Norwich penalty gave the Saints a second opportunity with 1.2 seconds left on the clock, but the Saints were unable to work a shot in the limited time.

Emmanuel struck first on the afternoon as Kaile MacLean-Daley (Moretown, Vt.) gave the Saints the 1-0 lead with 13:02 left to play in the first quarter. The Cadets evened the score less than a minute later as Ryan McCarthy (Medford, Mass.) set Aaron Canarelli (New Hartford, N.Y.) up for the equalizer at the 12:05 mark. Norwich would take the lead just over five minutes later, when McCarthy notched a man-up goal.

Fuller extended the lead to 3-1 with an unassisted goal at the 3:52 mark, and the Cadets carried the two-goal advantage to the second quarter.

Dolber opened the second quarter with a goal at 11:57 to bring the Saints to within one, but Ian Mendoza (Mount Airy, Md.) and Mike Lavery (Penacook, N.H.) netted back-to-back goals at 11:50 and 9:14 to bring the score to 5-2. Emmanuel tacked on the final goal of the half with 7:56 left to play to set the score at 5-3 at the break.

After a scoreless third period, Norwich took a four-goal lead in the fourth quarter as Lavery and McCarthy scored at the 13:19 and 5:43 marks.

Dolber totaled two goals and an assist for the Saints. Sabuda and Curtis both tallied a goal and an assist. Michael Rodgers (New Haven, Conn.) totaled a game-high six caused turnovers for Emmanuel.

McCarthy totaled two goals and an assist for the Cadets, while Lavery chipped in with two goals. Canarelli and Mendoza both totaled a goal and an assist, while Seth Fuller (Wheaton, Ill.) netted a single goal for the Cadets.

Norwich goaltender Mark Paradiso (Westford, Mass.) totaled ten saves en route to his second-straight win in net. Emmanuel netminder Austin Lauzier recorded 14 saves on the afternoon, as the Cadets posted a 21-16 shots-on-goal advantage and a 41-32 total shots advantage.

Face-off specialist Nate Fortezzo (Branford, Conn.) won 12 of 16 attempts on the afternoon for Norwich and totaled a game-high seven ground balls.

Norwich returns to action on Tuesday, March 26th, as the team travels to Becker College for a 7:00 PM non-conference matchup. Emmanuel will play at Anna Maria College on Tuesday night in a 6:30 PM start.

- Release courtesy of Norwich University Sports Information