Box Score NORTHFIELD, Vt. – Plattsburgh State freshman forward Nicholas Laurent tallied a goal and an assist to lead the Cardinals to a 2-0 victory over Norwich University men's soccer team in non-conference action on Wednesday night on Sabine Field at Haynes Family Stadium.
Plattsburgh (2-1-0) held the territorial advantage from the opening whistle, putting six shots toward the Norwich (2-1-0) goal before the Cadets were able to register one.
The Cardinals finally struck in the 22nd minute with Laurent feeding a pass from the end line over to sophomore forward Alexis Archilla at the six-yard box. Archilla one-touched the ball towards the far right post, beating NU senior goalkeeper Christian Hallstrom (Las Vegas, Nev.) to put Plattsburgh up for good.
Norwich's best chances came late in the first half with junior midfielder Pedro Rodriguez (Bolivar City, Venezuela) sending a gorgeous cross over Jacob Zimmerman (Litchfield, N.H.) wasn't able to get a full foot onto, pushing it just wide right.
The Cadets threatened again in the final minute with senior Chris Bristol (Clinton, Conn.) getting a header off on a corner kick from Moab Schiers (South Weber, Utah). However, Plattsburgh junior goalkeeper Mitchell Jordon made the quick reflex stop and then picked up the ball before any Norwich players could get to it.
Both teams continued to have solid chances early in the second half. Nick Parrella had a breakaway with 39:30 left that he lifted high with Hallstrom coming out to challenge. Laurent attempted a bicycle kick from the six-yard box just moments later that Hallstrom was able to get a hand on, deflecting the ball off the cross bar.
Zimmerman had another quality chance for Norwich with 34:27 left but his header attempt missed wide to the right of the goal.
Laurent gave Plattsburgh some breathing room in the 60th minute when he beat Hallstrom to the far right post with a low shot after he won a battle for the ball with a Norwich defender. Laurent was in alone and be blasted a shot from 18 yards out that beat Hallstrom.
Zimmerman had another great scoring chance with 9:10 left in the match when he drilled a volley with his right foot off the crossbar that ricocheted back out.
Plattsburgh outshot Norwich 28-9 for the game. Jordon made two saves for Plattsburgh to pick up the shutout victory and improve to 2-1 on the season. Hallstrom made eight saves for Norwich, dropping to 2-1 on the season.
Plattsburgh won its fourth straight game against Norwich and extended its lead in the all-time series to 18-4-4. The loss also marked the first ever for the Cadets on Sabine Field at Hayes Family Stadium since they moved to the new turf field at the start of the 2013 season. Norwich is now 11-1-1 all-time at its new home.
Norwich returns to action on Friday when it travels to Springfield College for a 4 p.m. non-conference match with the Pride. The two teams met in last year's ECAC New England Tournament Semifinals with Springfield winning 2-0.
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