Box Score NORTHFIELD, Vt. – The Norwich University men's soccer team downed Johnson State College 4-0 on Saturday afternoon at Sabine Field to repeat as Cadet Kickoff Classic champions.
Freshman forward Jacob Zimmerman (Litchfield, N.H.) tallied two goals to lead the Norwich offense as the Cadets claimed their own tournament title for the second straight year over Mass. College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) by goal differential in the tie-breaker protocol.
Fellow rookie Moab Schiers (South Weber, Utah) and junior midfielder Chris Bristol (Clinton, Conn.) each scored their first collegiate goals in the second half to round out the Norwich offense on the day.
Zimmerman put NU up 1-0 in the first half when he buried a shot into a wide-open net after senior midfielder Eric Weir (Ipswich, Mass.) flicked the ball past Johnson State goalkeeper Ryan Belen to free up Zimmerman for his second goal of the season.
That's all the Norwich offense was able to muster in the first 45 minutes leaving the Cadets with more work to do entering the second half, needing at least two goals to claim the tournament title.
Schiers inched NU closer in the 48th minute when he blasted a brilliant strike across his body from 25 yards out at the top of the box into the far upper left corner of the net leaving Belen no chance and increasing the Norwich lead to 2-0.
Norwich finally got the important third goal in the 72nd minute when Zimmerman once again converted for his third goal of the season by taking a flick on from fellow rookie Alec Brigante (Colchester, Vt.) and patiently waiting from Belen to come off his line before carefully placing a shot into the bottom left corner of the net.
Bristol capped the scoring with another insurance tally in the 86th minute by blasting a free direct kick from 25 yards out into the top right corner of the net to make it 4-0 Norwich. After leading the Cadets in assists in each of the last two seasons, the goal marked the first of Bristol's NU career.
Bristol was named to the All-Tournament Team along with Schiers, Zimmerman and Derek Morin (South Paris, Maine). Bristol also earned Defensive Most Valuable Player honors as well. MCLA's Dylan Pereira was named the Offensive Most Valuable Player after tallying an incredible six goals over the two-day classic tournament to lead the Trailblazers.
Pereira was joined on the All-Tournament Team by fellow teammates Matt Robinson, Robert Dalby and Tyler Guzzi. Johnson State's Belen and Drew Steady were named to the squad, as well as Green Mountain's Matt Kukola and Tyler Lawson.
NU junior goalkeeper Greg Payne (State College, Pa.) picked up his second victory of the season after playing the first half and making saves on both shots he faced. Christian Hallstrom (Las Vegas, Nev.) played the second half and was untested in his 45 minutes of action to preserve the team shutout. Belen made 11 saves for Johnson State to fall to 0-2 on the year.
Norwich outshot Johnson State 33-6 and had eight corner kicks to the Badgers three.
Norwich will look to stay unbeaten on Wednesday when it faces its stiffest test of the season to date when it travels across Lake Champlain to take on Plattsburgh State. The Cardinals are also 2-0 on the year after beating Rutgers-Newark 2-1 in double-overtime and then Lyndon State 6-0 to claim the Potsdam Collegiate Village Cup title.
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(Video Highlights by Tanner Acebo, Norwich Sports Information
