Box Score

NORTHFIELD, Vt.  - The Norwich University men's soccer team kicked off its 2008 GNAC slate on with a 5-3 victory over 2007 GNAC Tournament champion Johnson & Wales Saturday afternoon at Howard Field.

The Cadets improve to 5-0 (1-0 GNAC) with the victory, while the Wildcats fall to 0-6 (0-1 GNAC).

Ryan Boyton led the Norwich attack with two goals and two assists. Drew Dilley, Bobby Begin and Rob Harlow added goals for NU, while Roger Motaze contributed three assists.

JWU actually jumped out to a 1-0 lead at the 22:57 mark when Edwin Sojos scored off an assist from Scott Kirchner. Norwich responded less than three minutes later when Dilley took a nice feed from Motaze and slid the ball into the goal at the 25:10 mark.

Boyton gave Norwich its first lead in the 39th minute when the senior forward scored off an assist from Motaze. Johnson & Wales came right back to tie the score at 2-2 just one minute later when Gustavo Perez scored off an assist from Eric Flath in the 40th minute.

Norwich began to seize control of the contest in the second half as the Cadets scored the first two goals of the stanza. Begin scored first, converting a pass from Boyton in the 54th minute. Then, at the 72:31 mark, Boyton set up Harlow's tally.

Johnson & Wales trimmed NU's lead to 4-3 in the 85th minute as Jeremiah Schenzel scored off an assist from Flath. That was as close as the Wildcats would get, however, as Boyton put the game away with his second marker of the contest off an assist from Motaze.

Norwich outshot JWU, 22-9, and the Cadets held a 6-3 edge in corner kicks.

"We did not overlook Johnson and Wales, especially after being upset by them in the GNAC Tournament championship game last season," said Norwich head coach Kyle Dezotell. "They made it difficult for us by putting a lot of numbers behind the ball and succesfully lulled us into a false sense of security. They were opportunistic and scored two goals off of their only two chances in the first half and we were a bit sloppy defensively. 

"We played much better in the second half, although again we lost focus late to give up a sloppy goal off a long free kick when the outcome of the game had already been decided.

"It can be difficult to stay focused defensively when you have the majority of possession during a match. This is something we will work on and improve upon throughout the season.  Overall, it was a great week for our team beating Top 25, Plattburgh State and beating the defending GNAC Champs today and getting off to a 1-0 GNAC start. We look forward to getting back at it against Johnson State on Tuesday."

Norwich continues its four-game homestand on Tuesday, Sept. 16, when the Cadets host in-state rival Johnson State at Howard Field. Kickoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.