NORTHFIELD, Vt. – Sabine Field has been a tough place to play for Mount Ida College men's lacrosse, and that trend continued on Wednesday afternoon as the Mustangs suffered a 14-5 loss to Norwich University, a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) foe.
Mount Ida has not won at Norwich since they captured the 2012 GNAC championship there, as the Cadets have now beaten the Mustangs in four consecutive meetings on their own turf.
Leading Norwich's offensive attack was senior Ryan McCarthy (Medford, Mass.) and sophomore Josh Jenkins (centennial, Colo.) with six points. McCarthy would pick up a hat-trick along with the three assists, while Jenkins scored twice and collected four helpers on the day. Classmate Jimmy Warden (North Andover, Mass.) also recorded a hat-trick, as senior Matt Flaherty (Portland, Maine) posted four points (2g, 2a) and freshmanConnor Loughran (Stowe, Vt.) with three (2g, 1a).
Norwich opened the contest with back-to-back goals from McCarthy and Flaherty for the 2-0 early lead until Lucas Stralka (East Greenwich, R.I.) chipped the ball into the back of the net on a feed from junior Ryan Trinque (East Greenwich, R.I.). The Cadets scored eight unanswered goals in a span of 13 minutes and two quarters. McCarthy and Jenkins would team up together, connecting for a pair of goals and assists throughout the run.
Mount Ida would snap the scoring drought at the 2:57 mark of the second half as senior defender Steve Koziski (Peabody, Mass.) forced a turnover, scooped the ground ball and ran down the field before scoring a laser shot that targeted into the top left corner.
After a 10-2 lead at the break, the Cadets scored three straight, including an extra man goal from Loughran as he retrieved a pass from Jenkins on the left side of the box and chipped it in the right bottom corner of the goal in front of the crease. Mount Ida struggled to find the net in the third quarter as Norwich's defense kept the Mustangs off the board, limiting them to just eight shots in the frame as junior midfielder Joe Wood (White River Junction, Vt.) scored unassisted to give the Cadets the 13-2 advantage as the game headed into the fourth quarter.
The Mustangs would find the net in the fourth quarter as Stralka scored unassisted but the Cadets responded three minutes later as sophomore Michael Cashman (East Kingston, N.H.) scored Norwich's 14th and final goal of the contest with Flaherty picking up the assist on the play. Mount Ida would score back-to-back, including a man-down goal, as time expired as the Cadets walked away with the 14-5 victory.
Freshman Ian Kriger (Burlington, Mass.) turned away nine Mustang shots for his sixth win of the season in the Maroon and Gold, while Mount Ida's sophomore netminder, Cam Hayward (Derry, N.H.) came up with 12 saves on 26 shots.
The Cadets would finish the day with 48 shots to the Mustangs' 33 and cleared the ball successful 23 out of 25 attempts and went 4-of-13 on the extra man opportunities. Sophomore faceoff specialist Jack Dwyer (Shelburne, Vt.) went 11-of-22 for Norwich, while sophomore Alex Zito (Andover, Conn.) went 10-of-17 on the face for Mount Ida.
Mount Ida (6-8, 1-4 GNAC) must regroup for another long road trip this Saturday afternoon when they will travel to Standish, Maine for a 1:00 pm game against Saint Joseph's College.
Norwich (6-7, 4-1 GNAC) hosts Johnson & Wales on Saturday at 1:30 pm in another important conference matchup.