CASTLETON, Vt. – The Vermont State University men's lacrosse team carried on a long-standing tradition on Wednesday night, playing in memory of former Norwich men's lacrosse player Connor Roberts in the annual Connor Roberts Memorial Game at Dave Wolk Stadium.
Though the Cadets came out on top 17-8, the teams came together after as Norwich head coach Neal Anderson spoke to both programs about Connor's character, his passion for life and lacrosse, and his ability to make friends with everyone he came across.
Norwich (6-4) held a narrow edge in shot attempts, 44-39, but outshot the Spartans 31-19 on goal and had a 31-26 edge in ground balls thanks to a 20-7 advantage in face-off wins. The Spartans had fewer turnovers in the contest—only 15—and played tightly with Norwich over the final three quarters after falling behind early.
Carter Frankenhoff had a four-goal night for the Spartans and
Ethan Esposito added a pair of scores for VTSU Castleton as well.
Hunter Sarro also scored and
Bryce Fontaine netted his first career goal.
Casey Meczywor and
Asa Forbes added assists. Four different players had three ground balls each—Frankenhoff, Meczywor,
Jonah Janaro and
Jordan Damske—with Damske and Frankenhoff causing two turnovers each.
Zac Smith made nine saves and
Chase Strychaluk added five saves for the Spartans in goal.
Tyler Seidel scored five goals for Norwich and Drew Fleury chipped in three goals and two assists. Thomas Muraski was a force for the Cadets, winning 14 face-offs, collecting 13 ground balls, scoring a goal and assisting on a goal. Luke Boland made 11 saves in 49 minutes for the win.
After falling behind 7-0 through a quarter and 8-0 early in the second before Sarro broke into the scoring column for Castleton. Three more Cadet goals made it 11-1, but the Spartans scored the next two goals for an 11-3 score. Norwich tacked on two goals in the final minute of the half to lead 13-3 at the break.
After the Cadets extended the lead to 14-3 out of halftime, Frankenhoff scored his second of the day to stop the bleeding. The Cadets continued to respond, scoring twice more before the Spartans rattled off four goals in a row over an eight-minute span. Frankenhoff completed the hat-trick before Fontaine got on the board. Frankenhoff's fourth made it 16-7 and Espostio's second set the score at 16-8. Norwich scored the final goal of the night with less than a minute to play.
The Spartans return to action on Saturday at WestConn at 1 p.m.
