Box Score
NORTHFIELD, Vt. – The Norwich University men's soccer team completed one of its finest offensive weeks in program history with a 12-0 victory over Green Mountain College on Saturday afternoon in the 2015 Cadet Kickoff Classic finale.
The Cadets claimed their fourth straight title in their own host tournament with freshman Ethan Melia (Shrewsbury, Mass.) and senior Christian Albrecht (Albuquerque, N.M.) earning offensive and defensive MVP honors to lead NU.
Junior Jacob Zimmerman (Litchfield, N.H.) and sophomore Bryan Mazzola (Ridgefield, Conn.) each tallied hat tricks to lead the Norwich offense. Zimmerman had a natural hat trick, scoring the first three goals of the game in a span of just 7:26.
Zimmerman scored just 30 seconds into the game with a run down the right side of the field and he booted the ball into the left corner of the net for his second goal of the season off an assist from Melia.
He scored again less than three minutes later off an assist from freshman midfielder Chris Clain (Proctor, Vt.). Zimmerman completed the hat trick at the 7:26 mark by knocking his fourth goal of the season in off an assist from Alec Brigante (Colchester, Vt.).
Melia scored his third goal of the tournament and fourth on the week in the 13th minute when he took advantage of a misplay by the GMC goalkeeper.
Sophomore forward Chase Hainey (Fryeburg, Maine) scored his team-leading fifth goal of the season in the 28th minute off an assist from the left corner from Noah Schiers (South Weber, Utah).
Sophomore Marty Elliott (Buckhannon, W. Va.) notched his second goal of the season in the 31st minute to increase the Cadets' lead to 6-0. Elliott and Hainey were both also named to the Cadet Kickoff Classic All-Tournament team for Norwich.
Mazzola scored three of the next four goals for Norwich to give the Cadets a 10-0 lead at halftime and tally the hat trick. Sophomore forward Ransford Ahenkora (Bronx, N.Y.) also scored his first career goal before the end of the first 45 minutes.
Ahenkora and senior Eric Beecy (Stowe, Vt.) added two second half goals for the Cadets to cap the scoring.
Freshman Stefan Skoff (San Jose, Calif.) picked up his third victory of the season without having to make a save. Junior Jay Carter (Glassboro, N.J.) and senior Eddie Ramirez (Gresham, Ore.) also came on to play minutes to preserve the team shutout.
Norwich has outscored its opponents 26-1 through its first three games of the season. 10 different players have scored goals already in 2015.
The Cadets now embark on a tough five-game stretch where they will face perennial NESCAC power Middlebury on Wednesday, Sept. 9 and then their first league contest against GNAC-rival Lasell on Saturday at 5 p.m. Norwich will then go on the road to face Plattsburgh State and two-time defending GNAC champion Johnson & Wales on Sept. 16 and Sept. 19. Norwich closes the five-game stretch with a home match vs. Castleton on Sept. 22.
