SAINTS FALL 1-0 TO NORWICH IN GNAC QUARTERFINALS

NORTHFIELD, Vt. – Sophomore defender Noah Schiers (South Weber, Utah) scored in the 83rd minute to lift the Norwich University men's soccer team over Emmanuel College, 1-0 in the opening round of the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Sunday afternoon at the Sabine Field at Haynes Family Stadium.

Norwich and Emmanuel went into action as the two conference foes would in a quarterfinal match. The Cadets seemed to dominate in the first half as they took six shots, but the Saints put up a fight defensively and left them scoreless in the first half.

The Cadets saw an opportunity to get on the board in the 12th minute as junior Moab Schiers (South Weber, Utah) controlled the ball at the top corner of the Saints' goal box before lobbing a cross over to Jacob Zimmerman's (Litchfield, N.H.), feet for the chip in shot off the left corner, but the ball would clang into the crossbar and over the net for the Saints' goal kick.

Emmanuel saw had a chance to score in the 23rd minute when senior captain Stefano Sainato (Albany, N.Y.) took a shot from the top of the goal box, only to watch the ball get jammed up by Norwich defender Christian Albrecht (Albuquerque, N.M.) as the Cadets cleared the ball out of their defensive end.

A minute later, the Cadets looked to counter with the ball as Matt Mazzola (Ridgefield, Conn.) pulled the trigger from the top left corner of the box, only to watch the Saints' senior goalkeeper James Withers (East Taunton, Mass.) come up with the save as the half ended with no score on the board.

The second half started with Emmanuel pressuring heavily and the Saints almost produced a goal when Sainto saw the ball free in front of the Cadets' goal and contested Norwich's keeper, Stefan Skoff (San Jose, Calif.) for the ball but Skoff managed to outrace him and cover up the ball before any damage was made.

The Saints' heavy pressure on Norwich's defense continued throughout the second half as Emmanuel produced nine shots in the frame, but Skoff would make four stops. Skoff would come up with a huge save in the 63rd as Emmanuel junior Colin O'Donnell (Killingworth, Conn.) drilled the ball from the right side of the box towards the left corner of the goal as he watched the ball flick off Skoff's fingertips for the save.

Norwich would turn the table in the final 15 minutes of the second half as the Cadets made three strong shots on goal, including a scramble in left front corner of the net as Zimmerman connected the ball on a cross from Colin Lozito (Wilmington, Vt.) for the chip-in but the ball would end up into Withers' hands for the stop.

The Cadets would get on the board at the 82:37 mark when Noah Schiers controlled the ball from 25 yards out and attempted, what was originally a hard cross over the box, but the ball sailed past Withers' hands and into the top left corner of the goal.

With six minutes remaining in the game, Emmanuel scrambled multiple attempts get on the board quickly with three shots in the final minutes but the Cadets' defense held their ground and the ball out of the net for the win.

Skoff would come up with five saves for his 11th win of the season, while Withers came up with seven saves for the Saints.

With the win, Norwich will face the defending champions and top-seeded Johnson & Wales in the semifinal round in Providence, R.I. on Wednesday, Nov. 4.