Box Score NORTHFIELD, Vt. – Freshman forward Ludo Kamga (Tunis, Tunisia) had a memorable collegiate debut as the skilled striker netted a hat trick to lead the Norwich University men's soccer team to an 8-0 win over Green Mountain College on the opening day of the inaugural Cadet Kickoff Classic on Friday at Howard Field.
After Norwich (1-0, 0-0 GNAC) jumped out to an early three goal lead, Kamga tallied three consecutive goals in a span of 10 minutes to break the game wide open and put the Cadets well on their way to their biggest margin of victory since Oct. 14, 2009 when NU also beat Green Mountain College 8-0.
"Ludo is a good player and we were excited to see what he would do in a real soccer game after he had been good in training and scrimmages," said NU head coach Kyle Dezotell. "Starting your career with a hat trick is a pretty fun experience for a freshman."
The win also marked the Cadets sixth straight win at home on Howard Field with their last lost coming on Oct. 1, 2011 to Albertus Magnus College.
Kamga wasn't the only rookie who starred for Norwich as Austen McGuire (Overland Park, Kan.) and A.J. Johnson (Farmington, Conn.) also scored their first career goals for the Maroon & Gold.
McGuire opened the scoring in the 14th minute when he flipped a shot far post past Green Mountain goalkeeper Toliver DiMasi off a pass from senior midfielder Garrett Shufelt (Clifton Park, N.Y.).
Junior forward Anthony Amell (Northfield, Vt.) and Ryan Campbell (Damascus, Md.) increased the NU lead to 3-0 with goals 1:32 apart midway through the first half.
Johnson scored in the 55th minute and then sophomore midfielder Pedro Rodriguez (Bolivar City, Venezuela) closed the scoring in the 60th minute by burying a free-kick attempt from just outside the penalty area into the right corner of the net to cap the scoring on the day.
"One of the things we are happy with is our depth and regardless of what they had today we were going to go pretty deep," Dezotell said. "It was a great experience to be able to play 29 guys in a college soccer game."
DiMasi made nine saves for Green Mountain (0-1, 0-0 NAC) in the loss while NU split the time between sophomore Christian Hallstrom (Las Vegas, Nev.) and Greg Payne (State College, Pa.). Hallstrom picked up the win without having to record a save in the first half and then Payne turned aside to shots in the second half to preserve the team shutout for Norwich.
Norwich had 40 shots to Green Mountain's six as well as 13 corner kicks to the Eagles' one.
In the second match of the day, Mass. College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) rallied from an early 1-0 deficit to score three straight goals and top the Nighthawks 3-1. Senior forward Jake McCall led the Trailblazers with two goals.
The inaugural Cadet Kickoff Classic concludes on Saturday with MCLA taking on Green Mountain College at 12 p.m. with Norwich hosting Newbury in the second match at 2:30 p.m. After the Norwich/Newbury match, there will be an award ceremony crowning the 2012 Cadet Kickoff Classic champion, announcement of the All-Tournament team, as well as the Defensive and Offensive Most Valuable Players.
The championship plaque is named after former Norwich men's soccer player Vic Gardner '71 who passed away after a battle with cancer in 2006.
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Highlights from Friday's 8-0 win over Green Mountain College.
By Brady Farkas, Norwich Sports Information
