Box Score NORTHFIELD, Vt. – The Norwich University men's soccer team moved to within one result of its best start to a season since 2008 with 2-0 win over the Univ. of St. Joseph (Conn.) to stretch its unbeaten streak to 10 straight. The 2008 team opened with a 10-0-1 record before losing its first game.
Freshman forward Bienfait Badibanga (Burlington, Vt.) scored both goals for his eighth and ninth tallies of the season, as well as his fourth and fifth goals of the week to lead the Cadets' offense.
Badibanga scored in the 34th minute to put Norwich (7-0-3, 4-0-1 GNAC) on top for good, heading home a service from the right by Matt Hilton (Colorado Springs, Colo.) to give the Cadets a 1-0 lead.
He struck again in the 60th minute, this time getting behind the USJ defense after a long over the top pass from Alex Brannan (Oneonta, N.Y.). Badibanga beat the USJ keeper in a race for the ball and slipped it behind him for his team-leading ninth goal of the season.
Senior goalkeeper Brendan Germano (Monroe Township, N.J.) and the NU defense took over from there to shutout the USJ offense for the remainder of the game and pick up three more crucial points in the GNAC standings.
Germano made four saves for the Cadets to improve to 7-0-3 on the year. Anes Gadun made eight stops for USJ to fall to 5-2-1 on the season.
Norwich travels to Regis on Wednesday in another GNAC matchup, before returning to Sabine to host two crucial GNAC games against Johnson & Wales on Saturday, Oct. 6 at 3:30 p.m., as well as conference-leading Saint Joseph's (Maine) on Wednesday, Oct. 10 at 7 p.m.
