Men's Lacrosse Defeats Norwich on the Road Saturday, Secures Spot in GNAC Playoffs

NORTHFIELD, Vt. – The University of Saint Joseph (USJ) men's lacrosse team secured its place in the 2023 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) playoffs, defeating Norwich University (Norwich), 8-6, on the road Saturday afternoon in Northfield Vt. Senior attack Evan Baden (Burlington, Conn.) paced the USJ offense, scoring five goals on the day.

GAME INFORMATION
Score: USJ 8, Norwich 6
Records: USJ 8-8 (4-5 GNAC), Norwich (6-10, 4-5 GNAC)
Location: Sabine Field | Northfield, Vt.

After a quiet start, the Blue Jays took full advantage of a man-up chance, as Baden netted his first goal of the game, giving USJ the 1-0 lead at the 7:59 mark. The Cadets tied the game three minutes later, but Baden found the back of the net again with a solo effort with 14 seconds remaining in the quarter, sending USJ into the second quarter with a 2-1 edge. Norwich quickly tied the game at 2-2, at the 13:39 mark, but would commit another penalty, giving USJ another man-up chance. Baden took full advantage of the situation, completing his hattrick and swinging the lead back in USJ's favor, 3-2, with 12:39 left in the half. However, the Cadets would tie the game moments later and both defenses kept the opposing offenses at bay as the game entered the halftime break level at 3-3.

The Cadets and Blue Jays continued to battle in the midfield to start the second half, but Baden once again came up big for the Blue Jays, netting his fourth goal of the game, giving USJ a 4-3 lead at the 12:07 mark. Norwich continued to commit costly penalties, as sophomore Christian Decker (Bristol, Conn.) punished the Cadets with a man-up goal at the 11:06 mark, increasing the gap to 5-3. Decker wasted little time netting his second of the game, utilizing a solo effort at the 10:15 mark to increase the USJ lead to 6-3. However, Norwich would not go down easy, netting back-to-back goals to close out the third quarter, cutting the USJ lead to 6-5 entering the fourth quarter.

USJ continued its dominance in man-up opportunities, as freshman midfield Nick Pestrichello (Wethersfield, Conn.) netted his first goal of the game 19 seconds into the fourth quarter, increasing the USJ edge to 7-5. Penalties continued to be the main theme of the game, as Norwich got a man-up chance after a USJ penalty at the 13:14 mark, but after sophomore defense Jay Kajander (Reading, Mass.) forced a vital turnover, Baden took the ball and fired his shot into the net, scoring a man-down goal for USJ and furthering the gap to 8-5, with 12:29 on the clock. Norwich would try and get back into the game, cutting the gap to 8-6 with 11:42 left to play. However, senior goalkeeper Trey McCann (Simsbury, Conn.) produced numerous great saves to keep Norwich off the board, while the Blue Jays successfully wound down the clock, securing the win, 8-6, and a spot in the upcoming GNAC playoffs.

GOALIE BREAKDOWN

NORWICH – Luke Boland took home the loss for Norwich (4-5), allowing eight goals and tallying 12 saves.

USJ – McCann played all 60 minutes in goal for USJ, picking up the win (7-8) after allowing six goals and making 11 saves.

UP NEXT

The Blue Jays round out the regular season at home Tuesday, April 25 against conference and intrastate rivals Albertus Magnus College. First faceoff between the Blue Jays and Falcons is set for 6:00 p.m. on the USJ Lacrosse Field in West Hartford, Conn.

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