THROGGS NECK, N.Y. - The Norwich University football team picked up its fifth straight win after holding on for a 13-6 win over SUNY Maritime in a pivotal Eastern Collegiate Football Conference (ECFC) match-up at Reinhart Field on Saturday afternoon.

In the victory, senior quarterback Joshua Woodward (Dayton, Maine) went 16-for-31 and threw a career-high 186 passing yards before he rushed in for a 12-yard touchdown in the third quarter that ended up being enough to help seal the win for the Cadets (7-2, 5-1 ECFC).

For Maritime (3-6, 2-4 ECFC) Kyle Garder ran the ball 18 times for 52 yards and a touchdown.

Norwich would not get on the board until the second quarter that resulted with nine plays for 58 yards before as sophomore kicker Wesley Medeiros (Gilford, N.H.)  kicked a 35-yard field goal at 4:29 to give the Cadets the lead of the game.

Thanks to a stonewall defense, with senior linebacker Matt LaFevre (Milford, N.J.) leading the team with seven tackles, that held the Privateers to just 82 total yards throughout the game, Norwich went back to work on the next drive as the Maroon and Gold moved the ball down the field for 54 yards before Maritime forced the kicking team to come out. Medeiros would drill the ball in between the uprights once again, this time from 24-yards out to add three more points onto the board for the Cadets as both teams headed into the locker room with Norwich leading 6-0 at the half.

Norwich's defense continued to thwart the Privateers' offense throughout the second half and later responded in the third quarter when Woodward drove the ball down the field for 23 yards on six plays before carrying the ball into the end zone on a 12-yard run to extend the Cadets' lead to 13-0 with the extra point.

With less than five minutes to go in regulation, after several more punts by both sides, Norwich dropped back to punt deep in its own territory. Maritime sent a full defense worth of pressure on the punt and blocked the ball as the ball was recovered at the Norwich's 3-yard line. The Privateers picked up a yard on the first play of the drive before senior fullback Kyle Gardner punched the fall into the end zone on a 2-yard dash to give Maritime its first points of the game at 13-6. The ensuing point extra point was blocked and the score remained at a seven-point differential.

Maritime attempted an onside kick but the plan did not go as drawn up as the Cadets recovered the ball to start the drive with 1:44 remaining on the clock. Norwich needed to pick up just one first down and did that before taking a pair of knees to end the game for the win.

Norwich will finish up the regular season with a battle for bragging rights in the state of Vermont, as the Cadets take on Castleton State next weekend for a 1 p.m. start.