Box Score
Video Highlights by Tanner Acebo, Multimedia Specialist
NORTHFIELD, Vt. – The Norwich University men's soccer team dethroned the three-time defending Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) champion Johnson & Wales with a 2-0 victory in the GNAC Semifinals on Tuesday night on Sabine Field at Haynes Family Stadium.
The No. 2-seeded Cadets (12-4-3) avenged having their season ended the last two years at Johnson & Wales (11-5-4) to advance to their fourth GNAC final in the last six seasons.
Seniors Jacob Zimmerman (Litchfield, N.H.) and Moab Schiers (South Weber, Utah) each scored goals to lead the Norwich offense, while senior goalkeeper Billy Whaley (Northfield, Vt.) set a new single game career-high with 10 saves to record his ninth shutout of the season.
After a scoreless first half, Zimmerman needed just 17 seconds to break the tie at the start of the second half as he ran down a long ball over the top by Matt Mazzola (Ridgefield, Conn.), evaded the JWU goalkeeper and buried a shot with authority into the back of a wide open net to give the Cadets a 1-0 lead. The goal was Zimmerman's 14th of the season and 53rd of his career, which tied him with Drew Dilley '09 for second all-time in NU men's soccer program history.
Whaley and the Norwich defense dug its heels in from there as JWU through everything at the net in attempt to find the equalizer. The Wildcats outshot Norwich 20-7 in the second half. But Whaley was up to the task every time, posting six saves in the second half to preserve the victory.
Whaley's best save of the game came in the 63rd minute when he robbed Tucker MacPherson on a side volley from 12 yards out with a sprawling save to knock the ball away and then a NU defender cleared away the rebound.
Norwich added an insurance tally with 10 seconds left when Moab Schiers tucked a shot inside the left post off a great play by Alec Brigante (Colchester, Vt.) to win the ball forward off a throw in.
Johnson & Wales outshot Norwich 29-9 for the game and had four corner kicks to the Cadets' one.
Norwich will look for its fifth GNAC Tournament title on Saturday, Nov. 5 when it travels to top-seeded Saint Joseph's (Maine) for the 2016 GNAC Championship. Game time is TBA. The game will be a rematch of the 2011 GNAC title game that Saint Joseph's (Maine) won 4-1.
