NORTHFIELD, Vt. - After a dominant second half, the Norwich University women's soccer team prevailed in an in-state clash with a 5-1 win over NVU-Johnson on Thursday night in non-conference action on Sabine Field at Haynes Family Stadium.
Four different Cadets tallied goals, with junior
Jillian Patria (Rindge, N.H.) spearheading the offensive showcase behind two goals to go with an assist.
Abby Bruce (Peru, N.Y.) and
Destiny Sanchez (Odessa, Fla.) recorded their first collegiate goals, while
Celine Juneau (Chazy, N.Y.) added a goal to the team total.
Norwich broke the scoreless stalemate just 6:48 game, after Bruce picked off Jordan Pelland before drilling a shot outside the Norwich endzone, narrowly missing the top crossbar and landing into the back left corner of the net.
Both defenses remained stout throughout the opening stanza, with the Cadets rallying for back-to-back goals in the 61st minute. A pass by Bruce inside the 20 was tipped by Pelland, recovered by
Isabel Doherty (Quincy, Mass.), and lightly passed ahead to Patria, whose shot on goal was nudged off the hands of NVU-Johnson goalkeeper Isabel Atkisson. Patria was able to recover before Atkisson and headed the loose ball into the net. Juneau followed up 24 seconds later with her own goal, driving home a long shot from beyond the 15-yard line.
The Cadets added another behind the tandem effort of Patria and
Abigail Stewart (Edinburg, Va.), both of whom walked up a loose ball and fended off a block by Pelland, before Patria launched a shot just out of the reach of a diving Atkisson.
NVU-Johnson got one back just minutes later following a penalty kick from Ida Eames, who put a halt to what would have been a shut-out win for
Rebecca Karis (Fayetteville, N.C.) in goal. Norwich would add a final exclamation point to the evening in the closing seconds of the game, after Patria walked in from a corner kick and sent a shot that would be headed into the back corner of the net by Sanchez.
Norwich outshot NVU Johnson, 17-8, in the game. Karis registered two saves for Norwich, both in the second half. With the win, the Cadets have extended their winning streak over the Badgers to five, dating back to 2016.
The Cadets will have a quick turnaround, hitting the road on Saturday for a 1:00 p.m. duel at Eastern Nazarene College before returning to Northfield to host University of Maine-Farmington on Sunday at 11:00 a.m.
