PHOTO CREDIT: Laurel Clace '25
STANDISH, Maine - #5 Norwich University (9-2-7) upset top-seeded Saint Joseph's College (12-4-3), 1-0, in a hard fought Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) men's soccer tournament semifinal at the SJC Athletics Complex on Tuesday.
PLAYOFF IMPLICATIONS:
With the victory Norwich advances to the GNAC Championship, which will take place at #2 Johnson & Wales University on Saturday, start time TBD. The Wildcats defeated #3 University of Saint Joseph, the 2022 conference champion, 1-0, in the other semifinal today.
For the Monks, the loss signals the end of the 2023 season.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
After a first half that was dominated by midfield play, the Cadets went on the offensive early in the second stanza and the efforts paid off with the game's lone goal in the 60th minute. Junior defender Kyle Dunn (Las Vegas, Nev.) delivered a perfect ball to the middle of the box, where junior defender Aidan Dwyer (Glastonbury, Conn.) leapt and steered a header into the top left corner. Sophomore midfielder Oleksandr Kharchuk (Ukraine) was also credited with an assist on the play.
The Monks had perhaps their best chance to tie the game in the 68th minute when Joseph Perron (South Portland, Maine), roaming the middle of the box, lifted a lead pass to freshman Cole Bishop (Gorham, Maine) near the left post with an open net, but the feed was just out of reach for the first-year forward.
St. Joe's continued to pour on the pressure and had three consecutive corner kicks in a matter of 63 seconds and managed to get a shot off on all three attempts, but the Norwich defense held the line.
TEAM STATS:
Saint Joseph's held the lead in shots (16-8) and corner kicks while both teams registered three shots on net in the conference tourney clash.
THE KEEPERS:
SJC junior Liam Foley (Middleton, Mass.) made three saves in the setback while Norwich junior Nicolas Lanza (Cocoa Beach, Fla.) turned away four shots in a clean sheet performance.
SENIOR SEND OFF:
Tonight's loss signals the end of collegiate soccer for the Monks' five seniors: Kyle Girouard (Millis, Mass.), Icaro Vieira (Westborough, Mass.), Will Wood (Franklin, N.H.), Travis Matheson (Gorham, Maine), and Ryan Farr (Gorham, Maine). With these five players on the pitch, the Monks have posted an impressive 41-11-6 (.707) overall record, including a 34-3-1 (.895) mark in GNAC play, with a GNAC Championship and NCAA Tournament berth in 2021.
