NORTHFIELD, Vt. - Sophomore Sarah Rucci (West Boylston, Mass.) scored twice to lead the Norwich University women's soccer team to a 3-1 victory over Dean College on Wednesday afternoon at Sabine Field in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) action.

Rucci scored in the 35th minute and in the 55th minute with a first collegiate goal from Antonia Pellon (Pownal, Vt.) sandwiched in between to account for Norwich's offense as it snapped a six-game losing streak and kept its GNAC playoff hopes alive with a big three points. 

Rucci scored her first goal of the game with a towering shot that ended up dropping in the back right corner of the net and just under the cross bar to beat Dean College goalkeeper Haley Gaunt and tie the game back up at 1-1.

Dean (3-6-2, 3-6-0 GNAC) took the lead just 3:41 into the game with Miranda Seacord scoring off a long through-ball pass Nicole Seidell to give the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead. Seacord beat NU goalkeeper Rebecca Karis, who hesitated to come out and challenge and then Seacord snuck the ball past the NU keeper for her second goal of the season.

Norwich responded though with Rucci tying the game up later in the first half.

Pellon scored what proved to be the game-winning goal in the 48th minute, blasting a shot past Gaunt from the middle of the 18 off a pass from the right by Celine Juneau (Chazy, N.Y.) to give the Cadets a lead they would never look back from. 

Rucci scored again and stealing a pass off the foot of a Dean player, dribbling in and firing a shot over the head of Gaunt from 30 yards out for her team-leading third goal of the season. 

Senior goalkeeper Kim Watt (Lindenhurst, N.Y.) came on for the second half to stop all four shots she faced and pick up the victory. Gaunt made 11 saves for Dean College in the loss. 

Norwich has three games remaining in the 2021 regular season. The Cadets still have an outside shot at their first playoff berth since 2011 if they can win their remaining three games. NU travels to Emmanuel (Mass.) on Saturday for a 3 p.m. kickoff in Boston.