Box Score 

NORTHFIELD, Vt. - Brooke MacKenzie scored a pair of goals, including the game-winning tally in the 87th minute, to help visiting Simmons defeat Norwich, 2-1, in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) women's soccer game Wednesday afternoon at Howard Field.

With the victory, the Sharks improve to 6-4-2 (4-1-2 GNAC). The Cadets, meanwhile, fall to 4-6-1 (2-4-1 GNAC) and see their winless streak extended to four games.

Simmons controlled play early in the contest, and the Sharks' pressure finally paid off in the 22nd minute when Justine Beauchamp played a corner kick over to MacKenzie. The junior forward quickly settled the ball before blasting a low shot through traffic to beat Norwich junior GK Nicki Hunsicker and put the visitors on top 1-0.

Norwich junior F Nikki Szczepanski enjoyed a couple of quality scoring chances of her own during the first half. On one occasion, Szczepanski actually got behind Simmons GK Ashley Wheeler before ripping a shot just wide of the goal.

Szczepanski helped set up the Cadets' game-tying goal late in the first half when she tracked the ball down deep in the right corner of the field and sent a crossing pass over to freshman F Brittany Casey. Casey, who had slipped inside the Sharks' defense, corralled the ball and tapped it into the net to tie the score at 1-1 with just 6:57 to play before halftime.

Norwich came out after the intermission fired up, and the Cadets seemed to have the better of play for the majority of the stanza. The tide began to turn with about 15 minutes left in the game as Simmons began to generate scoring opportunities.

The Sharks broke through with the game-winning goal with just 3:07 to play when MacKenzie settled the ball just inside the penalty area and drove a bullet of a shot past Hunsicker and into the top left-hand corner of the cage.

The Cadets nearly tied the game in the waning seconds as Casey got in behind the Simmons defense and was one-on-one with Wheeler. Casey got off a low shot, which appeared to be ticketed for the goal. Wheeler had other ideas, though, as the sophomore keeper dove to her left to make a sprawling save and preserve the victory for the Sharks.

Wheeler finished with nine saves in the win. Hunsicker tied her season high with 10 saves in the losing effort.

Simmons outshot Norwich 30-17 in the game, and the Sharks finished with a 9-4 edge in corner kicks.

Norwich will resume its GNAC slate on Saturday, Oct. 10, when the Cadets travel to Standish, Maine, to take on St. Joseph's (Maine) at 1 p.m.