NORTHFIELD, Vt. – The Norwich University women's soccer team battled for 90 minutes Tuesday night at Sabine Field, but a late goal lifted Emmanuel College to a 1-0 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) victory.
The Cadets and Saints played through a scoreless first half, with Norwich generating several opportunities to find the breakthrough. Norwich finished with 10 shots, seven on goal, and five corners, while Emmanuel recorded 13 shots and five shots on goal.
Freshman Sophie Olivo (Sanford, Maine) anchored the Norwich defense in goal, making four saves across 90 minutes as the Cadets worked to keep Emmanuel off the scoreboard. Olivo made several important stops in the opening half to keep the contest level.
Senior Beatrice Lake (Brookfield, Vt.) also delivered a standout defensive performance, making three separate slide tackles inside the box to deny dangerous opportunities and keep the Cadets in the match. Lake anchored the backline throughout the full 90 minutes, helping Norwich withstand sustained pressure from the Saints.
Norwich continued to search for an offensive breakthrough after halftime, with Melanie Winters (Montpelier, Vt.) testing the Emmanuel goalkeeper early in the second half. The Cadets continued to push forward, but the Saints' defense held firm.
Emmanuel finally broke through in the 84th minute, when they found the back of the net to give the visitors the decisive 1-0 advantage. Norwich looked to respond in the closing minutes, but could not find the equalizer.
The Cadets finished the contest with seven shots on goal and five corners, continuing to battle until the final whistle.
Norwich moves to 8-5-2 overall and 4-5-2 in GNAC play following the setback. They'll be back in action at St. Joeseph's (Conn.) at 1p.m. on Saturday.
