BEVERLY, Mass. - The Norwich men's soccer team fought to a 1-1 standstill against Endicott on Thursday night at Hempstead Stadium.

Both teams held one another scoreless throughout the opening 45 minutes, despite a 6-to-1 shot differential in favor of Norwich. Joseph Thongsythavong (Salem, Mass.) set the tone early, tallying four shots in the first stanza, including one of Norwich's two shots on goal.

The Cadets finally broke through just 12 minutes into the second half after Thongsythavong won a 50/50 second ball, beat his defender, and drilled a shot into the upper right corner of the net. Norwich evaded several subsequent shots by the Gulls.

Endicott evened things up in the closing half of the stanza, when Joe Mepham and Joe Cusack found the foot of Keveen Delgado at the 74:07 mark to tie the match one all.

Both teams' defensive tenacity kicked in after Delgado's goal, with both teams holding each other to a standstill that resulted in a tie in the season opener for both squads. As of this year, overtime is no longer played in regular season matches due to NCAA rules.

Norwich outshot Endicott, 15-11, while goalie Robert Wagenseller (Poway, Calif.) recorded a save. The match served as the first meeting between the two programs in school history. 

The Cadets will continue their four-game road trek on Saturday, travelling to Gordon for a 7:00 p.m. tilt.

(Large portion of this release courtesy of Endicott Athletic Communications.)