Saints and Cadets Finish 1-1 in Hard-Fought Match to Kick-off GNAC Schedule
BOSTON – An up and down match ended level between Emmanuel College and Norwich University on Wednesday in the opening night of Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) play at Roberto Clemente Field. It was a tale of two halves as the Cadets grabbed the first goal of the match in the 32nd minute before the Saints equalized after the break in the 56th minute.
BOSTON – An up and down match ended level between Emmanuel College and Norwich University on Wednesday in the opening night of Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) play at Roberto Clemente Field. It was a tale of two halves as the Cadets grabbed the first goal of the match in the 32nd minute before the Saints equalized after the break in the 56th minute.
Norwich put continuous pressure on the Saints defense in the first half, firing the first three shots of the match and seven total before the break. The Saints were able to hold strong for just over a half an hour before a foul led to a Norwich free kick inside just outside the box. Nathan Statires (Hampton, N.H.) struck a right-footed inswinger that found the head of a crashing Cullen Sweat (Williston, Vt.) who grabbed his first goal of the season and the lead for the away squad.
Emmanuel came out of the break looking to settle in and find an equalizer. In the 52nd minute, Connor Pierre (Albany, N.Y.) intercepted a weak Norwich pass and sent the ball forward to junior Joey Soucy (Attleboro, Mass.). A deflection off a Cadets defender saw the ball go behind the defense with Soucy able to beat Norwich goalkeeper Nicolas Lanza (Cocoa Beach, Fla.) to it and find the back of the net. It was both Soucy's and Emmanuel's first goal of the season.
Both sides would have chances in the second half, but Norwich was unable to challenge Emmanuel goalkeeper Maddox Pierce (Meriden, Conn.), who did not face a shot on goal in the final 45 minutes, while the Saints were unable to beat Lanza for a second time.
The Saints return to GNAC action at Roberto Clemente Field this Saturday against Lasell University at noon. The Cadets return home to face the University of Saint Joseph (CT) this Saturday at 1 p.m.
