NORTHFIELD, Vt. - The ninth Norwich goal proved to be the difference-maker on a night that honored the fallen Cadet who sported #9, as Coley Bagwell (York, Pa.) launched in the game-winner in double overtime to lead the Norwich University men's lacrosse team to a 9-8 victory over intrastate foe Castleton University in Thursday night's Connor Roberts Memorial Game at Sabine Field.

Mitchell McKay (Lynnfield, Mass.) paced the Cadets with three goals, while Tyler Seidel (Centreville, Md.) added two goals.  Bagwell, alongside a trio of Matt Meehan (Norfolk, Mass.), Christian Masonius (Belmar, N.J.), and Alex Johnston (Franklin, Tenn.) finished with a goal apiece.

The Cadets opened the contest with three quick goals in succession, as Bagwell found McKay just over two minutes in before Masonius threaded the needle just 38 seconds later.  Meehan contributed his score a minute and a half later, and would again find himself in the stat-sheet with an assist on McKay's second tally, coming minutes into the second quarter.

Castleton would finally find itself on the board with back-to-back goals from Cam Frankenhoff and Sean Kimura, but Seidel and McKay answered with a pair to stretch Norwich's lead back to four.  Casey Meczywor prevented the Cadets from asserting any further dominance, however, as he ripped in three-straight to whittle Norwich's lead down to one, 6-5.

Both teams would exchange ensuing goals, but it was Meczywor who would have the last laugh in regulation, after catching a centering pass from Ian Edgar right outside the crease and swooping it into net to knot the contest up, 8-all, and force the tilt into overtime.

Empty possessions and stalwart defense between the pipes from Thomas Kelliher (Shrewsbury, Mass.) and Christopher Dindino proved too much for the first overtime, sending the tilt to a second sudden death period.

Bagwell halted any further thoughts of a third overtime in the waning minute of the second extra frame, however, speedily bringing himself from behind the goal for a wrap-around shot over his left shoulder that sailed between the legs of Dindino and bounced into goal.

The Cadets dominated the game offensively, recording 67 shots, going a near-perfect 19-20 on clear attempts, scooping up 61 ground balls, and winning 17 face offs.  Kelliher, meanwhile, finished with nine saves in the crease to earn his first win of the year.

Prior to opening face-off, the Norwich University and Castleton University teams honored Connor Roberts with a moment of silence.  The Connor Roberts Memorial Game was established in 2015 in memory of Roberts, a Norwich lacrosse player who passed away from a sudden heart attack after his sophomore year.  Norwich and Castleton have jointly hosted the Memorial Game, as his brother Ben played lacrosse and hockey with the Spartans.

Norwich will now hit the road for an afternoon Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) duel at Saint Joseph's College of Maine on Saturday, Apr. 8, at 1:00 p.m.