BENNINGTON, Vt. — Neither side's offense could really heat up Wednesday afternoon as Southern Vermont College fell 8-5 to the hands of visiting Norwich University in blistering cold non-conference women's lacrosse action at Everett Field.
NU went up 2-0 early on, only to see the Mountaineers tie it with a late pair in the first half. The Cadets would head into the intermission up 3-2 and then score the first two goals of the second period to go up by three. SVC stayed close, making it a 7-4 game with 12:00 left on the clock. Both teams scored once more in the final minutes as Norwich held on for the tight victory.
Southern Vermont (0-2) is off until next Wednesday, March 30 when the Mountaineers head to Becker College to start their New England Collegiate Conference schedule with a 4 p.m. first draw.
SVC freshman Hailee Walker (Cohoes, N.Y.) scored two goals on the day while scooping up a team-best five ground balls. Sophomore Kristy Goldup (Schuylerville, N.Y.) and freshman Sydnee Julian (Mexico, N.Y.) each scored their first collegiate goals in the effort.
Sophomore goalkeeper Kelsey Carrera (Queensbury, N.Y.) made a handful of big saves between the pipes, totaling seven stopped shots in the loss (0-2).
Norwich took to a 10-5 advantage in draw controls on the day while getting whistled for 31 fouls to just nine committed by the Mountaineers. NU also grabbed a 29-23 edge in ground balls throughout the match.
The Cadets went on top right away, scoring just 1:21 into the game to gain the early upper hand. They would add to their lead with a little over 16 minutes to go in the first with a second unassisted goal.
Southern Vermont would then take to the scoreboard to cut into its deficit as Walker was awarded a free-position attempt at the left edge of the fan. She bounced a shot inside the left post for her second tally of the year with 15:04 to go in the half. Julian then tied the game after having started the day in net, getting on the stat sheet with a goal at the 8:23 mark; the freshman Mountaineer took a pass from near midfield and maneuvered around the Norwich defense, splitting a pair of Cadets about 20 yards out before a final cut opened her up to slip a low shot into the bottom right corner of the frame and make it a 2-2 game.
NU would regain the advantage a couple minutes later, taking a 3-2 edge that it would carry into halftime. Norwich then scored shortly into the second stanza and gained some separation with another goal at the 24:01 mark.
With the man-up advantage, Southern Vermont trimmed its deficit about five minutes later with Walker's second of the day. She brought the ball from the right side into the middle of the pitch, stopped and cut back to open up her up; the Mountaineer fired a high, overhand shot into the top of the net to get SVC back within two.
That difference wouldn't last long, however, as Norwich scored just over a minute later before tacking on its seventh goal with 16:37 to play. SVC refused to go quietly, chipping away again at the Cadet lead with a goal from junior captain Emily Lesure (Cheshire, Mass.). She took the ball at the top, right edge of the fan, circled back into the middle of the field and went at the net; Lesure split the NU defenders and fired a left-handed shot into the upper part of the goal, making it a 7-4 game with 12:00 on the clock.
Norwich pushed it back to a four-point lead with a man-up score at the 7:19 mark, giving itself a cushion that would be sustainable through the rest of the contest. The Cadets slowed the game down and kept the ball away from SVC, running the clock while the Mountaineers tried desperately to get possession back and go on the offensive. Goldup then got her score to go with one fluid motion, scooping up a loose ball in front of the NU goal and swinging it into the frame to set the score at 8-5. The time would run out on Southern Vermont, however, as the Cadets kept the hosts from making any late surges while walking out with the win.