Box Score NEW HAVEN, Conn.—The Norwich University men's soccer fell 6-5 in penalty kicks to the Falcons of Albertus Magnus College in the championship game of the 2012 Great Northeast Athletic Conference tournament.
After the first round of five in penalty kicks, the teams were tied at 4-4, sending the match into sudden-victory penalty kicks. Both teams hit their shots in the sixth and seventh rounds, but in the eighth round Albertus Magnus's goalkeeper Donato Piroscafo stopped the Norwich shot following a good attempt by James Lucchesi.
Neither team was able to capitalize in the first half and Albertus Magnus claimed advantages in shots (7-4) and in shots on goal (4-2). In the 10th minute of the half Norwich's Anthony Amell (Northfield, Vt.) posted the first shot on goal for the Cadets, followed by a Derek Morin (South Paris, Maine) shot on goal in the 21st minute.
Albertus Magnus had an early opportunity to score in the sixth minute as the Falcons' Stephen Zapata fired a shot from outside the 18-yard box that was just out of the reach of Norwich goalkeeper Greg Payne (State College, Pa.). The shot was too high, bouncing off the crossbar and was ultimately cleared by the Norwich defense.
Early in the second half Albertus Magnus dominated play, outshooting the Cadets 7-1 in the first 10 minutes. The Falcons had a solid opportunity to score in the 53rd minute as a shot by Zapata caused Payne to dive for the ball. The ball slipped from his hands and to the foot of Austin Tomin, who shot it back into the hands of Payne.
After a second scoreless half, Albertus Magnus would hold a 22-7 edge in shots, a 9-3 advantage in shots on goal and a 13-1 lead in corner kicks.
Albertus Magnus outshot the Cadets 8-4 in 20 minutes of overtime to send the game to penalty kicks.
Payne totaled 12 saves for the Cadets, while Pirascafo recorded six saves.
Norwich's Payne, Billy Flanagan (Oxford, N.Y.) and Morin were named to the All-Tournament team.
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