PAXTON, Mass.- The Norwich Men's Soccer team opened Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) action by travelling to Anna Maria Saturday afternoon.

The first half was a back-and-forth battle, with both sides generating opportunities but Valter Santiago and Nicolas Lanza (Cocoa Beach, Fla.) came up with stops to keep the game scoreless at the half. At the break, the AMCATs held a slight lead in shots.

Immediately off the second half kickoff, Anna Maria drew first blood with Kyle Brocker sending the ball through a diving Lanza to the bottom right corner. But the Cadets answered immediately with Christian Grubic (Montvale, N.J.) finding Dillon Hamrell (Williston, Vt.) on the left side of the box who dribbled a shot by Santiago to level the score.

Later in the half, Anna Maria broke the tie on another goal by Brocker. Soon after the goal, chaos ensued with both sides being handed both yellow and red cards, with the Cadets playing a man down for the final 15 minutes. Norwich pressed hard in the final minutes for the equalizer but were turned away by Santiago who made four of his nine stops in that final stretch to clinch a 2-1 win for the AMCATs.

Norwich's season opening road trip continues with a trip to reigning GNAC Champion Johnson & Wales on Sept. 11 at 6 PM.