NORTHFIELD, Vt. – The Castleton University men's lacrosse team pushed Norwich to double overtime on Thursday night in the annual Connor Roberts Memorial Game, but the host Cadets were victorious 9-8 in the non-conference tilt at Sabine Field.
The Connor Roberts Memorial Game was established in 2015 in memory of Connor Roberts, a Norwich lacrosse player who passed away from a sudden heart attack in June 2014 following his sophomore year. Roberts' ties to Castleton are strong, as his brother Ben played lacrosse and hockey at Castleton before graduating in 2014, and his sister Danielle was a member of the Spartan women's hockey team.
The Spartans were outshot 67-31, including a 38-17 margin on goal. Spartan goalkeeper
Christopher Dindino racked up 29 saves in a single game for the second time this season, tying his own mark for fifth-most saves in a single game this season in NCAA Division III. The Cadets held a 61-32 advantage in ground balls thanks to a 17-4 advantage in face-off wins.
Dindino has been solid in goal all season, his 163 total saves and 16.3 saves per game ranking him inside the top-15 goalies nationally. Despite the volume of shots he has faced, he also ranks among the nation's top-25 in save percentage, stopping 60.8 percent of shots faced to date. Entering Thursday, no goalie in the country had stopped more than 150 shots with a save percentage as high as Dindino's. With at least seven games remaining on the 2023 schedule, Dindino already has the ninth-most saves in a single season in program history.
Casey Meczywor had four goals and an assist for five points, with
Cam Frankenhoff and
Sean Kimura contributing two goals each. Frankenhoff also had an assist, and
Ian Edgar added three helpers.
Jared Fontaine and
Dawson Nalette added assists as well. Frankenhoff and
Chris LaBonte had four ground balls each to tie for the team lead, with
Gabe Rubio leading the way with three caused turnovers.
Norwich got three goals from Mitchell McKay and two Tyler Seidel. Matt Meehan had a goal and three assists as well as a team-high seven ground balls. Goalie Thomas Kelliher made nine saves in the win for Norwich.
Norwich got off to a fast start, scoring three times in the opening five minutes for a 3-0 lead. Those were the only goals of the opening quarter as the Spartan defense settled in and held the Cadets scoreless for the next 14-plus minutes of action, when McKay netted his second of the game early in the second quarter to make it 4-0 Norwich. Goals by Frankenhoff and Kimura halved the lead to 4-2 before Norwich pushed it back to a four-goal edge with two scores just 2:15 apart. Castleton ended the first half strong, however, with Meczywor scoring twice in the final 90 seconds to make it 6-4 at halftime.
Meczywor opened the second half with another man-up goal that drew Castleton within one, 6-5, but Norwich made it 7-5 with a goal of its own less than a minute later. Kimura kept it a made it a one-score game going to the final 15 minutes of regulation when he scored with just one second to play in the third quarter. Castleton moved the ball around the perimeter before Meczywor found Kimura on the doorstep just before time expired.
Norwich pushed its lead back to two goals early in the fourth quarter, tallying a man-up goal for an 8-6 lead. The deficit remained at two for the Spartans until the clock read 5:27, when Frankenhoff stepped into a shot from the perimeter and beat Kelliher low for an 8-7 score. Meczywor tied the game two minutes later, forcing overtime with a finish in front off of a quick feed from Edgar.
Neither side got anything going in the first overtime period, with Dindino stopping a pair of shots to preserve the tie and force a second OT. In the second overtime, Dindino again came up clutch with an early save at point-blank range. Castleton gained possession, but Norwich forced a turnover near midfield and established its offense deep in the Spartan zone. Coley Bagwell drove up from behind the goal line and shot left-handed to beat Dindino and seal the victory for Norwich.
Castleton is on the road once again on Saturday with a Little East Conference matchup against Salem State. The opening face-off is set for 2 p.m.
