Box Score (Photo courtesy Ben Albury, Times Argus)
NORTHFIELD, Vt. – Junior midfielder Ryan Curley (East Haddam, Conn.) finally broke a scoreless draw in the 52nd minute to the Norwich University men's soccer team to a 1-0 win over Mount Ida in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Tournament Quarterfinals on Sunday afternoon at Sabine Field at Haynes Family Stadium.
Curley's third goal of the season proved to be the difference in the match in a tight defensive battle that featured just eight shots on goal total between the two teams.
Senior midfielder Joe Young (McLean, Va.) played a through ball to space in the box from the right wing that Curley tracked down with two Mount Ida defenders closing in fast on him. Curley slid at full extension to get his left foot on the ball and bury it into the bottom left corner of the net to give Norwich a 1-0 lead.
Norwich (11-3-4) now advances to the GNAC Tournament Semifinals where it will take on top-seeded Lasell College for the second straight season. Lasell downed Rivier 5-1 in its GNAC Quarterfinal matchup.
Despite the lack of shots on goal, both teams had chances in the first half to get on the board. NU junior midfielder Chris Bristol (Clinton, Conn.) had a great chance just over two minutes into the match when he hit a side volley from inside the penalty box that Mount Ida junior goalkeeper Matt Pils was able to corral.
Mount Ida (8-7-3) countered in the sixth minute with Carlos Martinez forcing NU starting goalkeeper Christian Hallstrom (Las Vegas, Nev.) to make a diving save to the left. The Mustangs kept up the pressure and just under 12 minutes later Peter Sliva rang a shot off the right post of the goal.
Late in the half, junior midfielder Derek Morin (South Paris, Maine) had an open look at the goal from the right wing but he sailed a shot high of the crossbar to keep the match knotted at one heading into halftime.
Both teams continued to get chances in the second half with senior midfielder Eric Weir (Ipswich, Mass.) sending a shot high over the net off his left foot from the top of the 18 just over five minutes into the half.
Just over a minute after Curley scored, NU nearly made it 2-0 when Bristol had a free kick stoned by Pils with a diving save after the ball found its way through the wall of Mount Ida defenders.
Mount Ida's best chance of the second half came in the 62nd minute when Martinez again used his speed and creativity with the ball to weave through a couple of Norwich defenders before blasting a shot that missed left of the net.
The Mustangs frantically searched for the equalizer in the closing 10 minutes, earning numerous corner kick attempts, but they were turned back time and time again by the stingy Norwich defense.
Hallstrom made three saves to improve to 5-2-2 on the season and stretch his consecutive minutes shutout streak to 489:06. Pils made four saves for Mount Ida to finish at 7-6-2 on the year.
With the victory, Norwich head coach Kyle Dezotell continued his streak of reaching at least the semifinal round of the GNAC Tournament in his eight seasons at the helm of program.
Norwich and Lasell will kick off at 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday. No. 3 seed Johnson & Wales (R.I.) will host No. 7 seed Albertus Magnus on Wednesday in the other semifinal. The winners will meet Saturday in the 2013 GNAC Championship. Albertus Magnus is the defending GNAC Tournament champion after beating Norwich last season in penalty kicks. The Falcons upset No. 2 seed St. Joseph's Maine 1-0 on Sunday.
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