CASTLETON, Vt. – The Castleton University men's lacrosse team carried on a yearly tradition on Wednesday night at Dave Wolk Stadium, hosting rival Norwich University in the Connor Roberts Memorial Game.
 
The Cadets came out on top in the contest, 21-9, but players and fans shared in a moment of silence prior to the game in remembrance of Connor Roberts, a former Norwich men's lacrosse player with familial ties to Castleton. The two programs have hosted various fundraising events since 2015, helping raise more than $28,000 for the Connor Roberts Memorial Fund in that time.
 
Norwich (7-1) held a 61-32 edge in total shots in the contest, outshooting Castleton (0-8) 37-17 on goal. Turnovers were nearly even in the contest, but the Cadets racked up a 56-33 edge in ground balls and won 20-of-33 face-offs.
 
Collin Johnson and Cam Frankenhoff had two goals apiece for Castleton, while Dawson Nalette added two assists. Ethan Esposito had a goal and an assist for Castleton. Casey Meczywor, Chris LaBonte, Sean Kimura and Dylan Davis also notched goals, while Hunter Sarro had an assist. LaBonte led the team with six ground balls, followed by Sarro and Matt Mumford with three each. Zac Smith stopped 13 shots in goal for Castleton over 51 minutes of play, while Peyton Mavrides made three saves in nine minutes of action.
 
Norwich received six points apiece from Parker Campbell and Payden Masaracchia, with Campbell scoring two goals with four assists and Masaracchia netting four goals with two helpers. Callum Jones had five points by way of three goals and two assists. Thomas Muraski racked up 14 ground balls and went 18-of-24 on face-offs. Thomas Kelliher stopped just two shots while allowing eight goals, earning the win for Norwich.
 
The Cadets scored the first two goals in the game, but Castleton got on the board just under five minutes into play with a goal by Frankenhoff. Norwich pushed the lead back to two before Kimura and Johnson scored back-to-back goals to knot the score at 3-3 late in the first quarter. Norwich responded immediately after Johnson's goal, with Muraski winning the face-off and scoring just seven seconds later. The goal started a five-goal run for Norwich within a two-minute span to put the Cadets up 8-3 after 15 minutes.
 
Meczywor scored to open the second quarter, but back-to-back Norwich goals made it 10-4 visitors. Frankenhoff got on the board again and LaBonte followed to make it 10-6, but Norwich tacked on two more scores before the break to take a 12-6 lead at halftime.
 
The two sides traded scores to open the third quarter, with Norwich striking first before Johnson netted his second goal of the game. The Cadets then rattled off five unanswered goals for an 18-7 lead before Davis stopped the run late in the quarter. Norwich added three more goals to end the third and start the fourth to take a 21-8 lead. Esposito capped the night's scoring with a goal to make it 21-9 with just over five minutes to play.
 
Castleton returns to action Saturday at 2 p.m. when its travels to New England College.