Box Score NORTHFIELD, Vt. – The Norwich University men's soccer team was impressive from start to finish, getting goals from five different goal scorers in a 5-0 win over Wentworth on Saturday afternoon on Sabine Field at Haynes Family Stadium.
Sophomore Jami Lashua (Williston, Vt.), freshman Mamadi Jiana (Westfield, Mass.), junor Joseph Thongsythavong (Salem, Mass.), as well as seniors Amerle Nemeye (Burlington, Vt.) and Brayan Ramirez (Scottsdale, Ariz.) all scored goals in Norwich's convincing season-opener victory.
Junior goalkeeper Robert Wagenseller (Poway, Calif.) stopped all three shots he faced to record his sixth career shutout.
Norwich took the lead in the 25th minute with Lashua cutting the ball back at the top of the 18 and lacing a strike into the top right corner of the net for his first collegiate goal. The Cadets added to their lead in the 31st minute with Nemeye rifling a left-footed shot far post and into the net to make it 2-0 Cadets.
Norwich carried the 2-0 lead into the halftime break and then broke the game wide open in the 56th minute with two goals just 16 seconds apart from Jiana and Thongsythavong. Jiana raced in alone and finished off a shot after a beautiful flick on by Thonsythavong on a header off a Wagenseller punt to make it 3-0 Cadets.
Thongsythavong and Jiana hooked up again right after the kickoff with Jiana dispossessing a Wentworth player and sending Thongsythavong in for the 18th goal of his Norwich career.
Ramirez finished off the scoring with his first Norwich goal in the 80th minute.
Norwich outshot Wentworth 23-12 and had nine corner kicks to the Leopards' two.
Wentworth starting goalkeeper Liam Nasr made seven saves in 65 minutes of action before being relieved by Louis Quintero for the remainder of the game.
Norwich will host perennial national powerhouse Amherst College on Tuesday, Sept. 7 on Sabine Field at Haynes Family Stadium at 7 p.m. The Mammoths won the 2015 NCAA Division III National Championship and were in the final in 2019 against Tufts.
